Kicking & Screaming
by Taker Always
Summary: When CM Punk moves into a new building, he finds his life changing. His career, his friends, & his new little neighbor are changing his life, disrupting everything he's worked for. Kicking & screaming the whole way will he ever get to use to the changes & will he finally find the love he didn't even know he was looking for. Punk/OC... rating for language & Smut!
1. Moving Changes Everything

Author's Note: Punk wouldn't shut up so here I am! He's already harping on chapter two... :-) I'm still working on my Punk character. I hope I captured him as much as I possibly could. Reviews are always welcome, but please be kind. If you have advice or helpful words please PM me. This story will not be as long as my three previous stories, but it will be a romance and a little bit of mystery! Enjoy please!

Chapter One  
Moving Changes Everything

**Sunday April 21, 2013**

Moving to a new place should have been easy. After all it signifies a new beginning for all involved. A new beginning where a person can change their life; change their ways of living and their perspective. Well not all their ways, but a few. Not everything can be changed. However, moving was anything but easy.

First, there was the searching. Sure, if one wasn't picky or peculiar about things then finding a new apartment, condo, or house was an easy task, but I was picky and very particular about where I lived. Things had to be a certain way and I didn't want to be over ran by zealous fans. For me, location and comfort were the two main keys. And after months of searching I found the perfect place for me.

A high rise building on East Delaware Street gave me the privacy I needed and the views that I loved. Each floor had two condos and there were fifty two floors. I was on floor forty-nine and I had thirty-five hundred square feet of pure luxury. I probably could have spent more, but I wasn't that into material things. This condo was extremely quiet as I took a tour of the Olympia size swimming pool, the state of the art gym and the grocery store that were inside the building. I enjoyed the quiet. My neighbor, the realtor had told me, was a workaholic and rarely home.

The three bedroom, two and a half bathroom condo was already furnished and the views of the sweeping lake and city skyline were breathtaking. The place had been completely renovated with top-quality finishes that included designer bathrooms, a new kitchen with stainless appliances, granite counter tops, and plenty of light colored wood cabinets. There were also light colored hardwood floors throughout the condo, a custom wedge wood built-ins and wet bar, a redwood wine closet (which I wouldn't use), UV-protected windows, and media wiring. My favorite part was the master suite with sitting room, dual walk-in closets, and a master bathroom to die for; a spa bath with towel warmers and a steam shower.

So now that I found my new place, went through the details and the contracts, signed the contract, and paid the bill, I was ready to move in. Easier said than done. The worst part of moving is the packing and moving of belongings. Or junk as some people call it. I called it junk because that was what it was, but it was my junk so when I started packing I knew I could have hired movers and probably should have, but I didn't trust easy. Packing everything myself took some time that I really didn't have, but I made time. I bought this place almost year ago and I'm just now moving in. That's how much time I had, but I finally managed it. Most of my furniture went into storage as this place was fully furnished. I did bring my white leather sofa and matching recliner with its plump extra-large pillows and giant plasma 3-D television. Everything else except my clothes and a few personal items went off to storage.

After packing everything and moving it to the new place, it was time to unpack. I did that today. It didn't take long, but since I moved everything by myself including the big pieces of furniture (it was doable but it took me awhile) I was exhausted. Everything was now unpacked and cleaned but I was tired, it was late, my short hair was thoroughly mussed as my fingers have found their way through it on more than one occasion, and I was hungry. But instead of being able to eat, take a shower, and go to bed, I had to answer the door.

The only people who knew I had moved and that I was moving today was Paul Heyman and my best friends Chez, Chaleen, and Colt Cabana. Vince McMahon knew I was moving but unlike the others he didn't know the exact address as of yet. My friends were known to drop by when I was in town, but considering I hadn't given my list of 'approved' visitors to the doorman yet, I knew it wasn't anyone I knew. That could only mean one thing; it was a nosy neighbor or someone who knew who I was and they wanted an autograph. Well tonight they would be lucky if they didn't get a smartass because I wasn't in the best of moods. Not to mention, I was hoping for a little privacy and quiet before people figured out who I was.

I opened the door and had to look down. I was tall; standing about six foot in height while a lot of my co-workers and friends were well over six foot. The woman in front of me was no taller than five foot and that was pushing it. She was short, tanned, petite, and cute in the girl next door kind of way. She had caramel colored hair that looked to be baby fine as it curled softly at her shoulders. She had huge expressive chocolate brown eyes, a small button nose which was sprinkled with light colored freckles and a pink cupid's bow mouth that was curved in a pretty smile. Her face was devoid of any make up. That little tidbit surprised me; not only because she didn't use make up but because I even noticed that small detail.

She was wearing a white cotton camisole top with a colorful butterfly in the center and the word beautiful written in purple underneath it, a pair of purple cotton pajama pants to match and although her feet her bare, her toenails were painted a deep purple to match her clothes. The white camisole top held a pair of small firm breasts and outlined a flat tummy. Her pants did nothing for her legs, but it emphasized her small waist and hips. She had a nice body and pretty face but she was a neighbor and that made her off limits. Not that I was interested anyway.

"Hi! I'm Ashley Flowers and I live across the hall with my roommate and friend, Terry. I just wanted to come over and introduce myself and bring you this meal as a welcome to the building gift." She smiled brightly. She had a soft sweet voice that would make most men think of her naked and in between a set of silk sheets while she whispered sexy and dirty things in their ears. All I could think of was how cheerful, perky, and happy she was. And it was then I noticed the green grocery bag she was holding. I took a whiff and my mouth watered. I wasn't sure what it was but it smelled delicious. I hoped it was something I could eat. I wanted the bag but I didn't want to make nice with my little cheery new neighbor.

But alas… "Name's Phil." I replied, not smiling and my voice gruff. I gave her my real name because if there was any chance of her not knowing who I was, I wasn't going to tell her. I didn't want to make new friends. Especially one that was a nosy little neighbor.

I had to give her credit, her bright smile never faltered. "Nice to meet you, Phil. Welcome to our little neighborhood." She handed me the bag which I took without protest, she then waved and turned away. She had just reached her door when I couldn't help but speak.

"It's nice to meet you, Ashley, and thanks." I called out before she was able to enter her own place. I ignored how much I liked her name on my tongue.

She flashed a brilliant smile over her shoulder. "You're welcome." She then disappeared in her own condo.

It was then I realized that she didn't comment on who I was or even showed some sign of recognition. Was she a wrestling fan who understood that we had personal lives outside of wrestling and we didn't want to be hounded daily? Was she maybe a ring rat that would slowly worm her way into my bed coyly and seductively? Or maybe she truly didn't know who I was? It probably wouldn't be long before I discovered which one, I thought as I made my way into the kitchen to eat my free dinner. I would at least eat what I could.

I pulled out the throw away containers and the smell intensified tenfold. There was a small pink note taped to the largest bowl and I pulled it off and opened it.

_Welcome to Delaware Street! Enjoy your meal! I found out that you didn't eat meat so I made you vegetable lasagna and a loaf of homemade bread. I know it's a lot of food, but it's all yours. Please enjoy!_

It was signed by Ashley Flowers. Well duh. She had dainty hand writing. Kind of like her. And that definitely answered my question. She knew who I was, but the question now was; was she a fan?

* * *

**Tuesday May 7, 2013**

Although I had taken a leave of absence that was still indefinitely, I still had obligations and contracts to fill. I had autograph signings, radio interviewers, and talk show appearances that I had to attend. Today, I had a radio interview that lasted for a little over an hour. I was allowed to discuss Wrestlemania, but not what happened at Raw eight days after I lost to Undertaker. The radio DJ knew this however he tried to get the real reason why I was taking a leave of absence, but I managed to thwart his questions every time he tried.

And he pulled every reason he could think of including an injury, rehab, a death in the family, leaving the WWE for good, marriage or a new baby. Yeah right, like I was getting married or having a baby. CM Punk didn't do marriage and or babies. The idea of me in rehab was absolutely absurd and leaving the WWE was not an option for me. Wrestling was my life. The radio DJ would have to wait another day for his answer like everyone else. Not that I cared that he had to wait and besides I still wasn't quite sure myself on the reason why I needed a break.

My match with Undertaker was definitely one of my favorite of matches so far in the WWE. I was put to the test with him as my opponent. Afterwards when he had gotten his pin, I had gotten belittled and humiliated by my longtime friend, Paul Heyman. I told him to shut the hell up. I gave that match my all and so did Undertaker. I lost fair and square and I respect Taker immensely. Heyman was the sore loser that night. Things have been a little tense between the two of us since then, but we'll eventually cross that bridge and all will fall back into place. It always did.

I was about to open the door to my new condo when Miss Bubbly popped up in the hallway. I hadn't heard her door open so I was assuming she had just gotten home like me. I didn't know what she did to make a living but it couldn't be much. She was always home, moving around, and making a lot of noise. I gave her marks though because she was always quiet when I wanted to sleep. Her roommate must be footing all the bills because she was never home. And I do mean never. I have yet to see or hear from the my other neighbor. I felt bad for the roommate and friend, but then she brought it on herself. She could easily kick out her lazy ass friend.

It had been two weeks since I had met Miss Perky and I had only 'seen' her leaving her apartment and coming home. And when she did leave she almost always wore the same thing; t-shirts and jeans so her job wasn't a corporate one. Not that I was watching her or anything.

"Hi Phil! Beautiful day, isn't it?" She asked all upbeat and happy. Even without looking at her, I knew she was smiling. She was always smiling. Not that I was watching or anything.

I opened my door and half turned to look at her. Yep, she was smiling. Christ, she was too perky. And wearing another pair of jeans; these black and a snug fit that rode low on her small waist. And get this, her t-shirt was yellow with a smiley face on it. Go figure. She was way too happy.

I simply nodded. "Yep." I didn't smile because I didn't want to be friends.

Ashley opened her own door and mimicked my movements. A frown –which was odd indeed– marred her features and I could see the question haunting her chocolate colored eyes. She really did have beautiful eyes. I cocked an eyebrow and stayed silent. For about ten seconds. I didn't like the look she was giving me.

"What?" I snapped.

She flinched then quickly recovered putting a perky smile on her pretty face. She shook her head. "The match between you and Taker was just epic. One of my favorites."

I was surprised to say the least, but before I could reply she was already in her apartment and the door was shut. So Miss Bubbly Personality was a fan. But was she a fan of Taker's or a fan of mine?

* * *

**Thursday May 16, 2013**

It was almost ten in the morning and I had only been awake since about six. I did my work out; I ran a few miles, lifted a few weights before spending time with a punching bag. I then took a shower and fixed a healthy breakfast for myself; an egg white omelet with vegetables and a bowl of fresh fruit. I had just sat down when someone knocked on my door. I wasn't expecting anyone so it was probably my nosy, too upbeat neighbor even though I hadn't seen her in over a week. Not that I cared. The less I saw of her the better.

I got up to answer the door and to my surprise and dismay it was Paul Heyman. I stepped back to let him in. He made his way into my new condo and looked around.

"It's nice," he commented in a voice that made me not believe him. I chose to ignore the tone.

"I think so." I replied smartly.

He chose to ignore me as he studied the redwood wine closet. He clicked his tongue. "Too bad that will go to waste." He remarked snidely.

I shrugged. "I'll use it for something."

Paul turned to look at me; a frown on his face. "Have you been following Raw?"

I nodded.

Paul sighed. "What do you think about Brock and Triple H?" He asked like he wanted my opinion and maybe he did.

I shrugged again, turned my back on Paul and went back into the kitchen. I sat down and started to eat my breakfast. Paul followed me and sat down across from me, waiting for an answer to his very important question. When I didn't answer right away, he asked again.

I swallowed the last bit of my omelet. "I think H beat Brock fair and square and Brock should let it go. He's being the bitch just as H called him Monday."

Paul's face tightened in anger and then gave a wave of his hand. "That's over and done with now. This upcoming Monday I'm introducing a new guy."

I cocked an eyebrow and waited.

Paul nodded in confidence. "Michael McGillicutty also known as –"

"Curtis Axel also known as Mr. Perfect's son." I interrupted.

He gave me one of his signature grins. "That's right. He's going to be the next new thing."

I raised my fork in silent salute. "Good for him." I replied sarcastically. I never really liked Axel. He was too arrogant. I chuckled softly. Look who's calling the kettle black.

His face twisted once again in anger and he stood up. "I just wanted to come by and let you know so you wouldn't be surprised Monday night." He stated.

I nodded. "Well you've told me." I replied, finishing my breakfast and standing as well. "Let me see you out."

I was sure this meant our friendship was still on the rocks, but right now I just didn't care. Things were changing and I wasn't quite sure if I liked that change or not. My new place, my nosy neighbor, and my career were all changing my life and I didn't care for it. I opened the door to show Paul out and came face to face with Miss Perky. She gave me a smile and then turned those pearly whites on Paul.

"Hi! I'm Ashley!" She introduced herself before I could.

Paul gave her a quick once over and I did the same. She was wearing her baby fine hair in a high pony tail, the ends curling against the nape of her neck, a sky blue tank top with a scoop neck hugged her small form but it wasn't tight fitting. She was wearing a pair of short blue jean shorts. The material rode low on her hips and her tank top didn't quite meet the top of jeans and that flat stomach was confirmed. Her legs were shapely but short, toned and tanned. She was once again barefoot and her nails were painted a sky blue. She was the pertinent girl next door. And way too damn happy.

Paul introduced himself. "Do you live in this building?" He asked skeptically.

Ashley kept on grinning. "I do live in this building. I live in forty-nine A."

Paul eyed her closely. "Are you fan of wrestling?" He questioned and I had to admit I was interested in knowing the answer.

Ashley slowly nodding, her smile never faltering. "I am a huge fan of WWE. I just started watching it a few years ago."

"Are you a Paul Heyman guy?"

I groaned at that question. I didn't want to hear her sucking up to either one of us. I had better things to do.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry but I'm not."

Paul's face turned disapproving and he dismissed her at once. I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. Was she telling the truth? She had to be. Why lie about not being a Heyman guy if she was one? That didn't make sense. So she wasn't a Heyman guy. Did that mean she wasn't a fan of CM Punk? Suddenly I wanted to know and that pissed me off. I didn't want to get to know my perky too up beat neighbor.

"I'll see you later, Punk." Paul said good bye and I did the same. Ashley had already disappeared inside her own place and I was struck with wanting to know why she was outside her door when Paul was leaving. Was it just a coincidence or did she do it on purpose because she was just that damn nosy?

When I realized I was standing outside my front door, looking at Ashley's front door, looking like a complete idiot, I wanted to smack myself upside the head. I went back inside and slammed my door shut. I didn't care for my new neighbor or the fact that I was now obsessing over her. Maybe I was obsessing over the cute 'girl next door' because I was horny. Maybe if I got laid I wouldn't be obsessing over her anymore. Sounded like a plan to me.

* * *

**Saturday May 18, 2013**

I entered my condo with pep in my step, smacking on my gum and a smile on my face. I hated going to bars and nightclubs because I didn't drink or smoke and I didn't dance. But when a man needed to get laid, he went to bars and nightclubs. Lucky for me it didn't take but an hour of searching when I found a tall blond ready to party in my hotel room for the night. She smelled like stale cigarettes and tasted like cheap vodka, but she looked good and she just wanted to fuck. Which was what I was looking for. So I rented a hotel room for the evening because I didn't want anyone knowing where I lived and I fucked her into oblivion for over eight hours, sleeping for two of those hours.

I was now ready to start my day. I took a quick shower to wash away the night of cheap sex before I went on a quick run. Listening to my music and chewing my gum, I ran several miles before entering my place once more. The streets were busy with more activity than normal so it took longer than I would have originally liked, but I managed to get it done. I took another quick shower this time to get rid of the sweat from my run. I had just stepped out of the shower when the power went out. Luckily it was day time so I dressed by sunlight in a pair of loose fitting blue jeans and one of my Punk t-shirts.

Thirty minutes later, after making a few calls, the power was still out. I made a call to the power company and received a recorded message. Yes they know of the power outage and unfortunately it wouldn't be fixed for several hours. They were 'shooting' for the power to be fixed by five o'clock. Unfortunately for me it was only ten in the morning and I was hungry. I hadn't eaten since the night before and only then did I eat a veggie burger. After an all-night workout with Heather, I was starving. I didn't have any quick fixes like power bars or cereal. So sue me, I was a man and I hated grocery shopping. I called down to the grocery store that was conveniently located in my building and it was closed on the weekends. Shit! Now I was screwed.

Then someone knocked on my door.


	2. The Perky Peanut

**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO KEEPER OF OZ, POLARMAYDEN, KANE09LISA, KEPOUROS, RANDYORTONRULES62, TAMMY, QUEEN OF COMBAT, & TANYA2BYOUR21 FOR REVIEWS! LOVED THEM! THANK YOU ALL WHO FAVORITED THIS STORY AND FOLLOWED AS WELL!**

Disclaimer: The only character that belongs to me is Ashley. I do NOT own anything associated with the WWE and I am NOT making any money!

Author's Note: I forgot to mention this in my first chapter and I needed to let my readers know before you get into this story too much... This story does NOT portray Paul Heyman or Brock Lesnar in a good light... not even a little good. So this is just the first warning... I'll give more when we get closer to that time. This story is NOT kind to Paul Heyman or Brock Lesnar. Thanks! Enjoy!

Chapter Two  
The Perky Peanut

**Saturday May 18, 2013**

I took another quick shower this time to get rid of the sweat from my run. I had just stepped out of the shower when the power went out. Luckily it was day time so I dressed by sunlight in a pair of loose fitting blue jeans and one of my Punk t-shirts.

Thirty minutes later, after making a few calls, the power was still out. I made a call to the power company and received a recorded message. Yes they know of the power outage and unfortunately it wouldn't be fixed for several hours. They were 'shooting' for the power to be fixed by five o'clock. Unfortunately for me it was only ten in the morning and I was hungry. I hadn't eaten since the night before and only then did I eat a veggie burger. After an all-night workout with Heather, I was starving. I didn't have any quick fixes like power bars or cereal. So sue me, I was a man and I hated grocery shopping. But now I was screwed.

Then someone knocked on my door. I had a really good feeling on who it was. Call it a gut feeling but I knew it was my nosy little neighbor. Miss Perky who was just too damned happy about everything. No one should be that damn happy all the time. It was just unnatural. Upon opening the door, I discovered I was right. Miss Perky had come a-calling. And with a huge smile on her pretty girl next door face. Her hair was again pulled back into a ponytail and she looked a little sweaty. She had on no make-up but her toenails were painted a bright orange to match her loose fitting tank top. She had on a pair of dark blue jean shorts with orange embroidery and orange flip flops. So she was dressed to match with her bubbly personality.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah?" I asked gruffly.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I know the power is out and I wanted to see if you need any food. I know you haven't been home this morning." She looked guilty at that knowledge. I suddenly wondered if she was stalking me and I didn't know whether to be creeped out by that or intrigued to know that she watched me. And she had food! This could be interesting.

And of course I had to call her on it. "You watch me?" I asked without a hint of smile or tease.

She pulled her bottom lip between her even white teeth and gave a slight shrug. "Not really, but I can hear every time you go in and out of your apartment and it was really quiet last night. Normally around nine or so every night I hear you lifting weights and last night it was quiet so I figured you weren't home."

My eyes widened at her statement. If she could hear me, how come I couldn't hear her?

"Terry's room is backed against the wall to your apartment. That's why you can't hear anything. Terry is out of the country." She answered my question without me asking. Damn. And why was this Terry out of the country? What did this Terry do? Why did I give a shit?

"You do know there is a gym in the building, right? A state of the art gym with every kind of machine in there."

I nodded slowly. "I like having my own and there's plenty of space for it." I clipped.

She continued to smile and then went to nodding. "Oh of course. So are you hungry?" She asked appearing nervous.

I didn't know how she was going to cook if the power was out, but I had nothing else to do so I played along. "You offering to cook for me?" I asked.

She shook her head, never losing her smile. "Oh no I'm not I'm not offering to cook for _you_. My power's out too, remember?"

"Then why are you offering me food?" I snapped at her.

"Are you always this grouchy?" She cocked her head in question.

Her question surprised me as did the smile she still maintained while asking me. Her question also pissed me off. "Are you always this happy?" I snapped again.

Her eyes filled with sadness and then suddenly disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Her smile never faltered. "Yes. Now are you hungry?" She asked slowly, sweetly and with a smile.

My stomach chose that moment to growl and loudly. And her smile actually got bigger. I couldn't help but scowl. "I guess I am hungry." I replied roughly.

She nodded and turned back towards her place. I just watched her as she entered and shut the door behind her. So… she asked me if I was hungry so she could what? Go back into her condo and ignore me. What the hell? I was still standing there a few minutes later when she opened her door and came back out with her hands full.

I immediately went to help her, removing a few of the containers from her hands. We entered my place and went straight to the kitchen. I placed the containers on the counter and Ashley did the same. She gave me a bright smile.

"There ya go. Enjoy." She gave a little wave and moved to leave.

"Stop." I barked out before she could move another step.

She gave me a 'what' look?

"What is all this?" I asked, motioning towards the food.

"There's apple pie, homemade cinnamon bread and regular bread, another vegetable lasagna, and I threw in some cereal bars. All organic."

I frowned harder. "You keep all this food around all the time, hot and ready to eat?" I asked sarcastically and a little rudely.

"Are you always an ass to someone who brings you free food?" She asked, still smiling. I was tired of that damned smile.

I ignored her damn question. "Just answer my question." I demanded.

She rolled her eyes. "I've been cooking since last night. There's a bake sale tomorrow morning and we're serving food as we sale baked goods."

"Will they mind you giving me all this?" I asked skeptically.

Her smile got brighter. "I don't think they'll care." She replied.

I nodded. "Well … thanks." I said softly.

"You're welcome." She replied and started walking out of the kitchen.

I should have let her go. Let her walk out of my kitchen and out my front door and hopefully, maybe out of my life. But my mouth wouldn't cooperate with me. I couldn't stop it as it opened and spoke.

"How long have you been watching wrestling?"

She turned to look at me and took a deep breath. "About three or four years now."

"Why start then?"

"I moved in with Terry. It's like Terry's favorite thing to watch on television. I watched it with Terry and started to get into it." She replied.

"Are you fan of Taker or Punk?"

"Honestly?"

I nodded. "Always."

She sighed, but she never stopped smiling. "Taker is my favorite. Has been the since the beginning. You only became a favorite very recently."

My eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How recently?"

"Since I watched your documentary and learned how you grew up." She replied softly.

My face twisted in anger. "So you now pity me?" I hissed.

She lost her smile and suddenly I found I wanted that damned smile back. I didn't like the sad look on her face.

"I don't pity you."

"Really?" My nose curled in disgust. "I have a hard time believing that."

She shook her head, still frowning. "I don't. If I pitied you then it would be like pitying myself." She left before I could comment. Hell, she left before I could fully comprehend what she even said.

What the hell did that even mean? Did she grow up with an alcoholic father? An abusive father? An alcoholic mother? How did she finally get out? A death or was she eighteen when she was finally able to escape? Did she have family like I did where I could go and get away from my real family? Now I wanted to know all about her past because she knew about mine. It was only fair after all. Did she take her past and learn from it? Did she get drunk or maybe enjoy a glass of wine or a beer or two? Did she take drugs and smoke cigarettes? Or was her drug of choice hard core sex?

Or maybe she was lying her cute little ass off. Maybe her favorite had always been me and she just didn't want to admit it. Maybe she really was a Paul Heyman guy. Maybe she was slowly worming her way into my life and then eventually into my bed. But if that was the case then why not just tell me up front that she was interested in fucking me and I would happily oblige her.

No wait. I couldn't do that. She was a neighbor and completely off limits. I was going to be living here for quite some time; maybe the rest of my life. So I could not become involved with the pint size freckle face perky peanut. She wasn't my type anyway. She was too fucking happy. Sure she was cute, in that girl next door kind of way, but she was too happy. Yeah, she had a sexy little body, but she was too happy. I didn't like happy girls. I wanted the ones that were dark and edgy like me. She was sunshine and rainbows. Too happy.

And I was once again obsessing over her. Apparently I needed to get laid again. Fuck!

* * *

**Monday May 27, 2013**

I stepped off the elevator and made my way towards my front door. I was finally home after several grueling hours spent in a meeting with Paul Heyman, Vince McMahon, Paul and Stephanie Levesque and Chris Jericho. Vince wanted me to go one on one with Chris Jericho at Payback so he called a meeting for us all. Jericho would call me out, but Heyman would answer for me. I wouldn't be seen until the night of Payback. A big come back, they're calling it. Whatever. They were others there but the only ones I knew were the important ones. I signed the short contract and tried to leave when Paul stopped me.

He wanted to apologize for his behavior the night of Wrestlemania and he assured me it would never happen again. Something was off, I had a feeling he was lying through his teeth, but I simply put a forced smile on my face, accepted his apology, gave him a hug and went on my way. There would eventually be more decisions to discuss but for now I just wanted to get home and relax. I had a little over three weeks before I went back to my life in the WWE. Back on tour and all night traveling would be my normal. I was looking forward to it.

"Hi Phil!"

I looked up at the sound of the voice and tried to ignore the way my stomach tightened at the way she said my name. Ashley was locking up her door and she looked … well … hot! She was wearing a bright white sundress with little intricate designs throughout the modest dress. It was sleeveless and showed a lot of skin, but it had a high neck line; no cleavage at all. She was wearing a pair of dainty white sandals and her toenails were painted white with little pink flowers on them. Her caramel colored hair was down and flowing around her shoulders, the ends curling softly towards her heart shaped face. The girl next door was still there, but she was sexy as hell.

I nodded in return, keeping to my gruff nature.

She came to stand next to me, a small white purse in her hand. I had the sudden urge to ask where the hell she was going all dressed up. Didn't she know that men would take advantage of her innocent ass? Granted the dress was modest, but she looked sexy as hell in that little thing. She didn't stand a chance. And she smelled good. I took a whiff trying to discover the smell. Hell, it was pumpkin I smelled. Pumpkin and cinnamon. She smelled like fucking pumpkin and cinnamon.

"Why do you smell like pumpkins and cinnamon?" I asked brusquely.

She snapped her head back, a smile still on her face. "It's my favorite body wash."

I nodded. "It's a little off putting." I told her being an asshole. The smell of pumpkin and cinnamon on this bite size little peanut was turning me on. So yes I definitely needed to get laid. Again.

She gave a slight frown before smiling again. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize my smell bothered you. I'll try to refrain from smelling in the future." She said it sweetly, but sarcastically.

I shrugged. "Not like I care." I replied.

She rolled her eyes. "You should try being nice just once in your life."

"Why? Being nice makes people want to be friends and hang out."

"And what? You're too good for friends?" She asked.

I shrugged before nodding. "I am and I have enough friends."

Her mouth dropped into a neat little 'O' and her hand came up to her chest. "You have friends?! What is the world coming to?"

My eyes narrowed. "Who's being the ass now?" I replied.

She shook her head, the smile still on her pretty face. I looked longingly at my door, torn between wanting to get the hell away from the temptation of pumpkin and cinnamon and wanting to stay and banter with her a little more. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her hand come up towards my head before I felt her fingers brush my scalp. It was just a brush of fingertips meeting skin but I felt it to my toes.

"Sorry. You had a piece of dust in your hair." She stated showing me the dust itself before letting it float to the floor. "But you know, you're hair is really soft." She commented once again as she reached up and ran her fingers through my hair. Something I had never felt before in my life jolted through me. It felt like electricity coursing through my veins and with every soft touch of her hand, I got another jolt.

I grabbed her wrist and another jolt only sharper and more defined went through me. I gripped her wrist a little harder and through the roaring in my ears I heard Ashley's whimper of pain. I let go abruptly and stepped back from her. "I don't like to be touched. Remember that in the future." I snapped at her before walking away from her. I didn't look back at her as I entered my condo and slammed down the door.

* * *

**Saturday June 1, 2013**

I heard the male voice first. It was deep and whoever it was, he was laughing. Then I heard the female voice; Ashley and I heard her giggle. I immediately wanted to know who this guy was and why she was laughing. What did he do to make her laugh? I ignored the urge to stay where I was on my couch and went to the front door. I peered through the little peep hole and saw nothing, but I could hear them talking. I opened my door and my eyes instantly found Ashley.

Her hair was back in a ponytail, curling at the ends. She was back in jeans that rode low on her small hips and a sparkling black camisole top gave me a glimpse of her sexy flat stomach. She was wearing another pair of sandals; these black and her toenails were blood red. I had gotten laid twice since Monday and she was still the sexiest little thing. She was still intriguing and an enigma and it was driving me fucking batty.

"Hi!" She smiled, giving me a little finger wave. That was when I noticed it. Her wrist was black and blue. Fuck! I did that. I bruised her soft delicate skin. What the fuck was wrong with me? I had never hurt a woman before. Not even crazy AJ. No man had any right to put his hands on a woman and I did just that.

I gave her a tight smile and turned my attention to the male with her. Instantly, I felt relieved. He was an older gentleman, probably her grandfather or something.

"James, this is my neighbor Phil. Phil this is my boss, James."

Her boss? This old man was her boss? I quickly glanced at his left hand and discovered the wedding ring. But in this day and age, that didn't mean a damn thing.

James chuckled and held out his hand. "I'm not really her boss; she just likes to call me that." He told me as I shook his hand firmly. What the hell did that even mean?

I watched closely as James told Ashley he would see her tomorrow. He then kissed her forehead, told me goodbye and left, the elevator taking him out of sight but far from out of mind.

Ashley was unlocking her door, ignoring me I did believe. I reached out to take a hold of wrist when she flinched from me. I jerked back and frowned. She just flinched from me. Shit! That was so not good. She plastered a smile on her face.

"Sorry. It was just reflex. How can I help you, Phil?" The happiness in her voice was forced. Her being near me was scaring her. Damn, I was an ass.

"I wanted to apologize for the other day. I'm even sorrier for the bruise I left on your wrist." I told her sincerely.

She was chewing on her bottom lip again, nodding. "Apology accepted." She smiled and went back to her door, her hands clearly shaking.

I swallowed hard, grasped her shoulders –ignoring the jolt that went through me– and turned her towards me. Her eyes were wide as saucers and even though she was smiling, she was scared. "You have no reason to be afraid of me. I promise you that. You just shocked me the other day." I assured.

She nodded and shrugged off my hands. "I'm not scared of you." She lied. "It was just a reflex. I'm fine." She gave herself a little shake and her smile got bigger. "I definitely like the other Phil better."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "You mean when I'm being a jackass?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yea that's it." She said, her grin getting bigger and her chocolate eyes were shining.

I actually smiled and she clapped in triumphant. "I actually got you to smile, Grumpy Phil."

I lost the smile and threw her a dirty look. "Don't get used to it." I replied smartly.

She laughed. "Don't worry I won't." She said snarky before she entered her condo and shut the door, calling out a quick bye as she did.

I went back to my place on auto pilot. She had a beautiful laugh. It was dainty and definitely feminine, just like her. She smelled good too. This time she smelled like apples and mangoes. She was sexy as hell too. I was just going to have to admit to myself that I liked her. I was intrigued by her. I was just going to have to remember that she was strictly off limits. She was my neighbor and off limits. I would maybe have to get a steady girlfriend. One that would understand that I wasn't into marriage and babies and that WWE and wrestling was my life. Ashley was too much of a goody-goody and she was the girl next door. She could be a friend and that was it.

* * *

**Saturday June 8, 2013**

"When do you go back?" Former wrestler and my best friend, Colt Cabana asked me.

"June sixteenth. Payback with Chris Jericho."

"You ready?"

I finished my Pepsi and tossed in the trash. Colt followed suite with his own can of Pepsi. "I am ready." I stated.

Colt cocked his head. "You sure about that? You seem a little off?"

I leaned against the counter and dropped my head so my chin touched my chest. "I've got this bad feeling in my gut, but I don't know why I've got it or what it means." I told him, meeting his eyes.

Colt had been my best friend for years. We wrestled one another. I have a certain kind of respect for Colt Cabana. I didn't have that much respect for many.

"Has anything changed lately? Been off?" He asked concern, leaning against the opposite counter.

I snorted. "I moved which I hated to do but I needed a new place. Paul and me have been arguing about work and such and things haven't been stellar at WWE either."

"What's been going on at WWE?"

"Vince isn't happy with my behavior and he wants me to change." I said the word like it left a bad after taste on my tongue and it did.

"You're never going to change. The way you are is just that… the way you are."

I nodded. "Yeah, but I shouldn't be doing some of things I've been doing, but I am the way I am. I don't know if it's in me to change."

Colt shrugged. "Just keep your hands to yourself outside of the squared circle and you should be good. Now what's going on between you and good ol' Paul?" He asked snidely. He never did like Paul.

"You know I lost to Taker." I stated for purpose.

Colt nodded. "That was a damned good match and you gave it your all."

"I did, but Paul was pissed because I lost."

Colt shrugged. "Fuck him. You two put out a great match. Taker won fair and square, but that does not make you a loser."

I agreed with my best friend. "He finally apologized but something just feels off. I can't shake it."

"Go with your gut on this one, brother. If something feels off to you then the chances are pretty damn good that they are. Just watch your back."

I nodded. "I will. No worries there."

"Good." He replied, looking at watch then cursing. "I've got to get out of here."

I grinned. "Big date?" I teased.

He snorted. "Yeah right."

We laughed as we walked to the door. I opened the front door to walk with Colt to the elevator and was met with the sexy little body of Ashley. Another ponytail, purple tank top, white twirly skirt, white sandals, and purple toenails. Did she always match? Her hands were weighed down with grocery bags from a very expensive upscale market that only carried organic foods. How in the hell did she afford this shit when she didn't work?

Colt gave a low wolf whistle. "Damn, where've you been keeping this one?" He asked appreciatively.

Ashley looked over her shoulder and flashed him a smile. "He hasn't been keeping me anywhere. I've been hiding from his grumpy attitude."

Colt laughed and went over to help her with the bags. I followed him and grabbed the bags from her other hand, taking precaution not to touch her. I didn't care for the jolts.

"Thank you very much gentlemen." She told us happily as she opened her door. She ushered us through to her kitchen. I looked around as I went, trying to find some clue as to who she was but nothing stood out whatsoever. She was still an enigma.

"You can just put those on the counter. Thanks again."

Colt winked at her. "Anytime and anything for a sweet _sweet_ thing like you." He flirted with a smile.

Ashley giggled and shook her head. "Do you woman actually fall for that smile?" She teased him.

"Oh of course." He replied and they both laughed. I frowned. What the hell was my best friend doing?

"Didn't you have to be somewhere?" I asked gruffly.

Ashley giggled again. "Grumpy Phil makes an appearance." She teased me.

Colt laughed his ass off. "Grumpy Phil? Oh I love that!" He told her. "Don't worry about him. He may seem all thorns and barb wire, but he's nothing but a softie on the inside." He added, giving Ashley another wink.

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "I'll remember that. Thanks again, gentlemen." She replied, dismissing us both. We left her apartment and walked to the elevator.

"How come you didn't tell me you lived across the hall from that?" Colt demanded to know.

I shrugged. "I didn't think about it."

He looked at me like I was going insane. "What do you mean you didn't think about it? Damn Punk, she's fucking hot as hell."

I shrugged again. "She's just a neighbor."

"What?!" He practically shrieked as I pushed the button for the elevator.

I took a deep breath. "She's only a neighbor and you are not asking her out." I stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments.

Colt eyed me for a minute before slowing nodding. "Got it. She's only a neighbor. But I have one thing to say."

"What?" I hissed through clench teeth.

The doors opened and Colt stepped into the elevator. "You're fooling yourself if you think she's only a neighbor."

He gave a little wave as the doors closed and he disappeared. I may be fooling myself into thinking she was only a neighbor, but I would never admit that to anyone. Not even myself.


	3. Peach Pie

**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO KANE09LISA, TAMMY, TANYA2BYOUR21, KEPOUROS, THEJOKER122, MUMBO SAUCE, KEEPER OF OZ, AND RANDYORTONRULES62 FOR YOUR REVIEWS AND KIND WORDS!**

Warning: Just another warning that Brock & Paul do not fare well in this story!

Disclaimer: WWE or any one that works for the WWE is not mine! I am not making any money.

Chapter Three  
Peach Pie

**Thursday June 13, 2013**

Now it was like she was never home or she was just coming home. Don't ask me why I even noticed it, I just did. I could hear her door opening and closing at all hours of the day, but she never arrived home after midnight. She was always home and opening her front door before then. I don't know why I noticed that either, but I did. She never makes any noise coming home that late either. I don't think she deliberately keeps from making noise, I just think she was so damned little that she doesn't make any noise. I don't know where she's been or why she's getting in so late and I don't care either. As long as she doesn't wake me when I'm trying to sleep.

When we usually see each other in the hallway we're either coming or going. Today I was leaving and I was kind of in a hurry. I had a lunch date with Chez. She was having problems with a man and she wanted my advice. Dressed in my normal baggy jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie, I passed Ashley as she was coming home. It was a nice day outside and Ashley was dressed for the weather or maybe she was dressed for yoga. Her hair was in a ponytail, of course, and flip flops were on her small feet; her toenails were painted a dark green to match the camisole top she was wearing. Her tanned legs were covered by a pair of dark gray yoga pants. And as always, a smile was on her face.

"Hi Phil!"

I was getting used to hearing my name coming from her cupid's bow mouth and I was starting to like it. I gave her a small smile. "Hey." I nodded in reply.

"Are you ready for Payback?" She asked.

I was always ready. "Are you ready for Payback?" I asked in reply.

Her smile got brighter. "Oh I'm definitely ready. I've already ordered it."

I gave her a cocky grin. "You don't have tickets?"

She shook her head. "I wanted to go since it's practically in Chicago, but I've got something planned that night and it's been planned for over a year so I won't be able to make it. But I'll be recording it so I can watch it later."

"I'm going to win you know." I told her being cocky.

She laughed as she unlocked and opened her front door. "Oh I have no doubt that you'll kick butt."

"Do you want Y2J to win?" I asked, suddenly annoyed at the thought of her cheering on another man.

She shook her head. "Nope, I want you to win." She replied, giving me a quick wink as she shut her door. I shook my head and went on my way. I was going to win, but not for her. I was going to win for me. Like I always did.

* * *

**June 16, 2013 -Payback  
**

I was ready. I was psyched. Bouncing on the heels of my feet with Heyman beside me, I waited for my music to play. Jericho's music played first and it felt like forever before finally my music came on and the audience went crazy. I stepped out and made my way to the ring. The audience was alive and screaming, happy that I had returned and I played on that. In my head, I was singing the lyrics to my song.

_Look in my eyes, what do you see?  
Cult of personality  
I know your anger, I know your dreams  
I've been everything you want to be  
I'm the cult of personality  
Like Mussolini and Kennedy  
I'm the cult of personality  
Cult of personality  
Cult of personality_

But deep inside I was screaming for joy. I was being welcomed back in the best way possible. The fans were happy to see me. They wanted to see me, to watch me wrestle, to watch me do what I do best. I climbed in the ring and did my thing as Jericho waited in the corner. The music stopped and I removed my jacket and then my shirt. I snapped my neck, flashed a smile, and I was ready to go. We locked together and the match was on.

* * *

I won! Thirty minutes of non-stop action and I won. Right here in my home town, I kicked Jericho's ass. I felt alive. I felt pumped. I never wanted this feeling to end. I knew eventually it would, but another match and I would get that feeling once again. It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world and only a choice few got to experience it.

After changing into my street clothes, and dealing with the aftermath politics, I made my way towards my bus. We had a long night ahead of us, driving to Grand Rapids, Michigan and it was already pretty late. I was tired and sore and I was ready to sleep. In times like this I was thankful I had a bus and a driver to drive the bus. I climbed on board, greeted Sam, the bus driver and immediately ,made my way towards the back of the bus and the only bathroom on board. I shed the dirty street clothes and stepped into the shower. I let the luke warm water wash away the dirt and grime of the day. It had been a good match, a good work out as well. Not as good as my match with Taker, but a well fought out one.

Ashley suddenly came to mind and I wondered if she had watched it. She had stated she had plans tonight and she was going to record it. I knew it was close to midnight so I wondered if she was already home. I wondered if she enjoyed watching me fight. If she cheered me on? Was she one of those nail biters or was she a scream at the television type? I was pretty sure one day, I would find out. I just had this feeling that one day I was going to discover all of Ashley's little secrets.

* * *

**Monday June 17, 2017**

I was once again standing in position, waiting for my music. Tonight I was going to interrupt Alberto Del Rio and his ignorant 'I'm now the champion' speech. Del Rio was okay behind the curtain but once in front of the fans, he was an ass, more so than usual. Character or not, sometimes he took it just a little bit too far.

"How was your weekend?" Del Rio asked the audience. He went on to tell them this or that and a little more. I kind of tuned him out because I didn't care what he had to say.

"Men of great in front of you. A real superman."

I rolled my eyes at Paul Heyman beside me and he chuckled softly.

"Some of you are saying the way I won was controversial." He stated.

I shrugged. I didn't really care. He finally got to the point I had been waiting for. My music filled the stadium and with Heyman by my side, I made my way to the ring. The audience was cheering, hell they were screaming in delight that I was there and I was soaking it up. I climbed into the ring, grabbed a microphone, ran a hand through my hair, and spoke my piece.

I could tell throughout my little speech that neither Alberto nor Ricardo wanted me there, and that kept the slight grin on my face. The fans were cheering me on and once again my mind went to Ashley. Was she watching this right now? Was she smiling that pretty girl next door smile as she watched me give one of my famous speeches? I bet she was definitely smiling. She always had a smile on the heart shaped face.

I lost my train of thought and had to look to Paul. He gave me a look of confusion and reminded me of what I was saying…

"Four hundred and forty-three days."

Oh yes, now I remembered. Four hundred and forty three days was a lot of days. I still can't believe I hold the longest time to hold the championship belt. Well, one of the belts and one was enough… for now. I wanted to grasp the other one and hold it even longer. Maybe double the four hundred and forty-three days. So that would be eight hundred and sixty-eight days. Now that would truly be a record no one would ever stop talking about. That would be about a hundred days over two years. That would definitely be one for the record books.

"I'm out here because I heard you say that you were the best." I began. I continued my little tirade, but once again my mind wondered.

I've been the best in the world for as long as I can remember. I literally worked my way up from the bottom of the worst pile imaginable. My biological family was a joke, and although I had Chez's family, sometimes it just wasn't the same. Wrestling in high school gyms and anywhere else we could set up wasn't exactly a dream come true, but wrestling was definitely the dream for me. It was my whole life. I took pride in each and every match I ever did. If it wasn't for Paul Heyman, I never would have made it this far.

I smiled inside as the fans started to chant my name over and over. Again my mind went to Ashley and I wondered if she was doing the same. Then my mind went way south as I couldn't help but wonder how she would sound whimpering my name, Phil as she writhed underneath me in utter ecstasy. How would she feel underneath me? Fuck, how would she taste against my tongue? My trunks were growing a little uncomfortable and I knew I needed to stop my train of thought.

"The reason I'm out here is to challenge you–."

I was interrupted by my best friend and manager and it peeved me off.

"Oooo.. Del Rio before you answer that," I tried to interrupt Paul, but he wasn't listening. "Let me just state publically, my clients don't fight free."

I took a breath and tried to interrupt him again.

"And last night it was an epic battle that you had with Dolph Ziggler and I admired everything that you did."

I finally got his attention and asked him what the hell he was doing.

He looked around sheepishly. "Well, we didn't talk about this and you are banged up from last night…"

Anything more he had to say and I wasn't listening. It didn't matter how banged up I was or how much pain I was feeling. If I wanted to wrestle, I would wrestle and nothing or nobody was going to stop me. His concern for the title was unwarranted. I didn't care if the title wasn't on the line. I just wanted to show Del Rio who the best really was. I clasped Paul's shoulder and tried to explain to him what I was feeling.

I told Alberto that he stole the title from Ziggler and as he was stealing the title, I was stealing the show kicking Jericho's ass. I wanted to smile at that one but I kept my face serious. Del Rio made a comment about him being the best and I countered telling him that everyone should think they're the best but last night at Payback I proved I really was the best. And of course I would continue to prove that. And once again I challenged him to a match tonight on Raw. He tells me that I don't want this and I want to laugh in his face. It's him that's going to regret our match, not me. I'm the best in the world and I would always prove it.

"Punk, I am the world heavyweight champion." He stated in his thick accent.

No shit, dumbass, I thought sarcastically.

Then Vicki's voice broke through the stadium and I barely resisted the urge to flinch from the sound it created. Although I didn't care for the screech owl, I was happy to see her. I would get my match and I of course would win.

* * *

"Where the hell were you tonight, Punk?" Paul Heyman, my best friend and now former manager asked me as soon the cameras disappeared.

My brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean where was I? I was in the damned ring, Paul." I answered back sarcastically.

He shook his head in reply. "If your mind had been there with us while confronting Del Rio than you wouldn't have forgotten that amazing record of yours nor would you have challenged Del Rio without checking with me first."

I pinched the bridge of my nose in irritation. "I don't have a clue what you're talking about Paul. And for the record I would have challenged Del Rio no what you had to say about it. He needs a lesson on who the best really is." I then shrugged nonchalantly. "And so what if I forgot the exact number days I was champion. I'm getting old. It happens." I replied, trying to play it off.

Paul snorted, not believing my story. "I think you're lying, Punk."

I dropped my head back and closed my eyes. "Why would I lie?" I snapped.

"I think that little neighbor of yours is distracting you and that could become dangerous." He accused, his voice different; low and almost vicious.

My head popped up and I met his eyes. "I think you've lost your mind." I said slowly. I didn't have a clue what I heard in his voice, but it wasn't good. It sounded bad, malicious even.

Paul shook his head and wagged his finger at me. "I think you're becoming too involved with that little tartlet you live next to. She's probably already attached herself to you in some form or another." His low tone giving me no doubt on what he meant. He was sure I was already having sex with her. Hell, I barely knew her. I would very much enjoy getting to know her in that carnal fashion, but she was a neighbor and off limits.

I couldn't help but silently add… for now.

"Paul, Ashley and me are just neighbors and nothing else. She can barely stand the sight of me. I can barely stand the sight of her. She's too happy, too cheerful and she doesn't have a job. Three things that I don't care for. Leave her out of this. Are we clear?" I stated, slowly and forcefully.

He gave a slight nod of his head, but that was it. I left him standing there, mad as hell and determined even more. I was sure that the Paul Heyman I knew would never hurt anyone, especially a woman, but the tone of his voice and that look in his eyes had me worried.

* * *

**Tuesday June 18, 2013**

I didn't have to make an appearance at SmackDown so I wasn't due back at work until next Monday. I actually had nowhere to be at all this week. I got lucky. So I came straight home to my new condo. It wasn't as new anymore as I've been here a little over two months and owned it over a year, but it was still new to me.

I was pissed at Paul Heyman for what happened last night after my match with Del Rio. Brock Lesnar came out of nowhere and hit with me an F-5. I wasn't happy being ambushed by a Paul Heyman guy and soon I would get my answers. I was told to wait until Monday so I could ask them live on the air in front of my thousands and thousands of fans. And with a little urging I finally agreed, but I wasn't happy about it.

It wasn't exactly early in the morning since it was about noon, but I was tired and still lagging behind because I had been on the road. But when the elevator doors opened and I heard the sweet sounds of Ashley's soft little laugh, I deemed it too damned early. Why in the hell was she in the hallway and why was she laughing? Why did it have to be at this exact time when I was just getting home? And why did that sweet laugh have this effect on me? My chest tightened with jealously at the male voice I heard. My dick began to harden just at the sound of her voice. And when I stepped into the hallway and caught sight of James, 'her phony boss' with his hands caressing her cheek and fingering her hair, my gut clenched in rage. He was being too hands on and I wanted to break his fingers.

I had no rights to the perky little peanut, but I wanted rights. Hell, maybe I just wanted her. Maybe once I had her, I would get over her and she wouldn't even bug me anymore. I didn't know for sure but it was worth discovering. And soon.

As I got closer to the duo, Ashley turned that bright white smile on me. "Hi Phil! Congrats on your win. Although I knew you would win."

I winked at her, something I never do and she giggled. "Best in the world." I told her.

She nodded her agreement. "Except for Taker."

I unlocked my door, chuckling to myself. I didn't reply to her comment I just gave her a lopsided smile and shut my front door.

* * *

A few hours later, Ashley was knocking on my door. I opened it up and invited her in. She had a pie shaped pan in her hand and something smelled delicious. She looked rather delicious as well. She was dressed in the same thing she had on when I came home. Her baby fine hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing a pink baby doll dress that was sleeveless with white sandals and pink painted toenails. She looked too damn innocent. And that smile… she was always smiling. I really didn't think anything could make her truly frown. She was just always happy.

"What's that?" I asked as we entered the kitchen.

Ashley turned to look up at me, the pie still in her hand. "It's a peach pie."

I cocked an eyebrow. "You made it?" I asked.

She nodded with a smile. "I did make it. It's actually still warm from the oven, but not hot to scorch your tongue or anything." She told me. Her chocolate brown eyes searching mine, the light colored freckles stood out on her pale face. She was tanned everywhere else but her face.

I nodded. "What's it for?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed softly. "It's a congratulations pie for winning your match."

I eyed her coolly. "Why would you make me a pie?"

She sighed. "Because you won your match." She said flatly.

"I told you before I left I would win my match."

"I was just trying to be nice, Phil."

My eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" I asked, suddenly thinking of Paul's words.

Ashley cocked her head. "I don't want anything. I was just honestly trying to be nice to you. Although I don't know why."

I stepped closer, invading her personal space. "I think I know why."

"Why?" She asked curious.

"I think you want me and this is your way of seducing me." I replied, leaning down until our noses almost touched.

Ashley half snorted and half laughed. "You're nuts! I'm not trying to seduce you. Right now I don't even like you."

I barked out a cruel laugh. "Liking me and fucking me are two different things, peanut." The insult endearment rolled off my tongue before I could stop it, but Ashley was a little too shocked to notice it.

Her mouth dropped open as she mimicked a fish. "That was rather crude, Mr. Brooks."

"I'm only speaking the truth. You don't have to like me to want to fuck me. Maybe you're nothing but a little ring rat that wants me in your bed because you can't have Mark." I snapped.

With her free hand she pushed against my chest and I felt that small touch down to my soul. I hated the little shots of electricity I felt when touching her. I wondered if she felt them at all. I backed up a little bit, but I was still invading her personal boundaries.

"You're full of bologna and crazy as a loon."

"If you don't want me then why are you bringing me a homemade peach pie?" I asked slowly like she was stupid when I knew she wasn't.

She blew out a breath. "We're neighbors, Phil and I was trying to be nice to you, but it's like you deliberately set out to be cruel and hateful just to keep people at a distance."

I shook my head. "I think you see me as your personal little meal ticket. After all you don't have a job. Is that who James is? You're suga' daddy, but now you're tired of him and want something new and fresh and the best. So you're dumping him and trying to trap my ass." I wasn't screaming, but my words came out loud and very harsh.

Ashley just stood there looking at me. Her chocolate eyes blinking at me in utter disbelief. "You are loco! You've lost your damn mind. Maybe you've hit your head one too many times and now you're crazy."

"I'm not crazy, but I know I'm right about you."

Ashley shook her head. "You don't know anything about me. And instead of satisfying your curiosity the old fashion way, you make assumptions that make you look like a complete asshole. That's fine, Phil. I thought because we were neighbors that we could get along and became friends, but that's not even a possibility with you. So I'm going to take my pie and I'm going home and I will never darken your door again." She hissed. She moved to step around me and I blocked her path.

"I want the pie."

Her eyes sparked with anger. "You want the pie?" She asked a little shocked.

I nodded. "You made it for me so I want it."

"You seriously want it?" She asked me.

I nodded again. "Of course I want it. It's mine." I snapped.

She gave me a saccharin filled smile. "Yes it's all yours." She replied sweetly. Almost too sweet. Before I could ask her what she was up to, the peach pie was smashed into my face and peaches went everywhere.


	4. The Ice Broke & It Flooded

**THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH FOR MY WONDERFUL & LOVELY REVIEWS! KEEPER OF OZ, THEJOKER122, BLACKWIDOW101, KANE09LISA, TAMMY, KEPOUROS, RANDYORTONRULES62, & TANYA2BYOUR21: YOU GUYS ARE TOTALLY AWESOME! THANK YOU ALL FOR MAKING THIS STORY ONE OF YOUR FAVORITES AND FOR FOLLOWING! THANK YOU FOR READING! **

Author's Note: This chapter did not go as _I_ had planned. Mr. Phil 'CM Punk' Brooks took over. So if you have any complaints... talk to him! :-)

Warning: Paul & Brock do not fair well in this story.. and Yes I will keep warning you every chapter. I don't want any surprises.

Enjoy!

Chapter Four  
The Ice Broke & It Flooded

**Tuesday, June 18, 2013**

"I want the pie."

Her eyes sparked with anger. "You want the pie?" She asked a little shocked.

I nodded. "You made it for me so I want it."

"You seriously want it?" She asked me.

I nodded again. "Of course I want it. It's mine." I snapped.

She gave me a saccharin filled smile. "Yes it's all yours." She replied sweetly. Almost too sweet. Before I could ask her what she was up to, the peach pie was smashed into my face and peaches went everywhere.

In reflex my eyes slammed shut. I truly didn't know what to think. She threw a pie in my face. I can't believe she threw a peach pie in my face. I licked my lips and groaned. It was a good peach pie too. And she threw it in my face! Okay so maybe I was somewhat out of line with demanding the pie after I had insulted her as I had, but she threw a pie in my face! The thing was I wasn't even really mad. In fact I wanted to laugh. Actually I wanted to rake the peach pie off my face, eat it and then laugh. It was really damn good. Through my peach pie face mask, I heard a small girlish snicker and I knew it was Ashley trying not to laugh. I was fixing to show her and I was going to enjoy it.

I covered my face with my hands and grabbed two handfuls of what was left of the pie. I finally opened my eyes. Ashley's eyes were wide with shock and dancing with amusement and mischief. Her hands were covering her mouth in an attempt to cover her girlish little giggles. I still wasn't mad. Anyone who could do this to me was alright in my book, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to get my revenge and I was definitely going to enjoy watching the perky little peanut squirm.

"I am so sorry. So so sorry." She spoke through her hands and I could hear the humor in her voice.

I licked my lips again, looking down at my hands which were covered in peach pie remains. "Ashley, do you like peaches?" I asked softly, meeting her eyes.

She gulped and slowly nodded.

I gave her somewhat evil grin and her eyes went even wider. Before she could move I had her face in my peach covered hands as I rubbed peaches, crust, and juices all over her face and in her hair. She screamed in outrage and tried to get away from me, but I held her too firmly. When I finally let go of her head, she stepped back away from me and sputtered in more outrage. As her eyes opened and settled on my face, I was licking the sweet nectar of peaches off my fingers.

Her face was now covered as mine was, her eyes were flashing fire, and she was breathing erratically. Oh she was spitting mad and sexy as hell. And then suddenly she was laughing. Her eyes were now shining with laughter and she was doubling over in a full blown belly laugh. She was most certainly beautiful, but I didn't understand why she was laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked with a smile on my own face.

She shook her head and got her laughter under control. "I can't believe I did that. I've never like confrontation and here I am throwing a pie in your face and you want to know what the funny part is?" She spoke through fits of giggles.

I cocked an eyebrow, keeping my hands at my sides. "What?"

She straightened up and met my eyes. "I'm not sorry I did it and I would do it again."

That honestly surprised me. "Really?"

She nodded. "I'm shocked too."

"Well, you know what?"

She blinked at me. "What?"

"I'm not mad." I admitted.

That surprised her. "You're not?"

I shook my head. "I'm not. How can I be? I deserved it."

Her eyes once again went wide as saucers. "You did?" She shook her head. "I mean, you did deserve it."

I chuckled. "You were right. I was curious and instead of asking questions I just jumped to conclusions. How about we meet back here in thirty minutes after getting cleaned up? I'll order a Chicago pizza and I'll ask my questions." I offered, hoping she took it up.

She eyed me for a minute before finally nodding. "I will gladly accept a Chicago pizza as an apology."

I laughed. "Good, now what do you like on your pizza?"

* * *

Forty minutes later, Ashley and I were seated on my white leather sofa eating a large all cheese pizza and drinking Pepsi. Ashley said she liked cheese on her pizza and cheese only. I was satisfied with that. I told her I didn't drink and she said she didn't either unless it was water or filled with caffeine. That made me laugh. The pizza didn't take but twenty minutes to be delivered, but it took over thirty minutes for Ashley to get the peaches out of her hair. But she showed up at my door looking clean, fresh, cute as hell and sexy too.

Her hair, still wet from her shower, was falling down around her shoulders and curling at the ends. She was dressed in a matching pajama set. The top was a light pink tank top with the word angel written in silver script. The shorts were the same light pink that contained a small heart on the hem. I was sure the initials VS meant Victoria's Secret, but I couldn't be sure. Her feet were bare and toenails were still pink to match her pajamas. I wonder if she did that deliberately. She was dressed modestly even though she was showing a lot of skin. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Original, right?

Ashley munched on her large slice of cheese pizza as she looked around her. She nodded towards the wine cabinet. "Do you have any ideas of what you're going to with that?"

I looked at the wine cabinet. The top half had three separate cabinets with glass doors to show off the wine glasses. The bottom half held two doors and two drawers with solid redwood. The doors held refrigerators that should hold wine while the drawers held wine accessories. All of it was empty. There was space between the top and bottom halves that held a light colored granite countertop and a small sink. Chances were it would never be used.

I shrugged, too busy to answer as I was eating my pizza.

"The one we have is used because Terry uses it." She replied, slowly nibbling and munching on her pizza.

"You don't drink?" I asked sounding doubtful.

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Why not?"

She stopped in mid bite and looked at me. "My mom was an alcoholic."

I nodded. "And you decided that you didn't want to be like her." I stated.

Ashley shrugged. "I guess."

She wasn't telling the whole truth and that bothered me. I wanted to know what she was hiding, but I wasn't able to ask any more questions because someone was knocking on my door. I didn't know who it could be, but I wasn't happy. I excused myself as I apologized to Ashley. She gave me a reassuring smile as I got up to answer the door. Imagine my shock when Paul Heyman stood on the other side. This couldn't be good.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

Paul frowned. "I've got a few hours before SmackDown and I needed to talk to you."

"Did you drive?"

He shook his head. "I did not and I have a plane to catch in two hours. Can I come in?" He questioned giving me a funny look.

Normally I wouldn't mind him coming in because he was a friend, but Ashley was here and something told me to keep her presence a secret. Something told me that Paul wouldn't like if he saw Ashley here in my condo in her sexy little Victoria Secret pajamas. I was about to push Paul back and go in the hallway when Ashley stood up and made her presence known.

"I'll just go since you've got company." She replied, her voice soft and sweet.

Paul's face turned red and his eyes bulged. She came into Paul's view and his eyes got even bigger as they raked over her small form. Ashley, completely ignorant of the dirty look Paul was giving her, gave him a huge smile and greeted him. She then gave me an even bigger smile.

"I'll just talk to you later, Phil." She waved good bye before stepping around Paul and disappearing inside her condo. I stepped back to let Paul enter and he did so with a flourish of anger and sputters.

"What the hell was she doing here, Punk?" He bellowed loudly.

"It doesn't matter what she was doing here, Paul. It's my business."

His face got even redder. I didn't think that was possible. "I came over here to apologize because I thought I knew in my heart that you would never do anything to jeopardize your career, but I can see now that I was wrong."

Apologize for doubting my career goals but not for maybe sicing Brock Lesnar on me. I wanted him gone. I didn't even want to have this conversation, but I knew he wouldn't leave until he was finished bellowing so I was going to have to let him. "Nothing or no one is going to stand in the way of my career. You should know this." I replied slowly.

"I thought the same thing until I get here and see that little slut getting comfortable in her pajamas. Her pajamas!"

The insult towards Ashley bothered me. I didn't really know her, but something told me she wasn't a slut and I didn't like Paul calling her that. "You don't know her so stop with the insults."

"Why was she here in your pajamas?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

I was torn. Did I tell him why she was here in her pajamas or did I tell him to fuck off? Telling him to fuck off was more appealing. "Paul, you're my friend and a confidant, but my personal life is just none of your business."

Damn, his face got redder. "It is too my damn business because she is going to ruin everything you've come to work for." He bellowed once again.

"You're giving the little thing too much credit, Paul."

He shook his head violently. "I think you're not thinking. Your brain is in your pants right now and I am NOT going to allow her to ruin your life." His beady little eyes narrowed in on me. "She is not to be trusted. You'll see that I'm right."

That was the second time he technically threatened my little neighbor and I didn't care for it. "Paul?" I spoke his name evenly and got his attention.

"Leave Ashley alone. Do you understand me?" My voice was hard and harsh. I wasn't happy and he knew it. I gave him a look that he knew I meant business.

He wrenched open my front door. "Oh I do, but don't you worry I won't touch her." He replied before slamming the door shut behind him.

* * *

**Friday June 21, 2013**

This was the first time I would be knocking on Ashley's door. It was ten in the morning and I had just returned from running a few errands. I needed a few groceries and while I was out, I picked up the newest fighting game for my Wii video game system. I used my Wii game system often as a way to relieve stress and even work out. I could easily compete with a computer opponent but I just had this urge to involve my neighbor. I didn't know how I would be received since this is the first time I would be seeing or talking to her since Paul showed up on my doorstep Tuesday afternoon.

I haven't heard from Paul since Tuesday and when I tried to call him, he didn't answer. I'm not completely worried since he does have two clients, Axel and Brock and I'm sure they take up a lot of his time. We had a scene on Monday to 'perform' but to me, it was truth time for Paul. I needed to know if had set Brock on me last Monday. He had better hope for his health that he did not.

I knocked on Ashley's door and within a few minutes she answered the door and I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Her caramel colored hair was tousled and her chocolate brown eyes were still dull from sleep. She was dressed in a short nightgown that had Tinkerbell on the front of it. The nightgown was really very fucking short. Like barely covering her um… DAMN! And her toenails were a light Tinkerbell green, but I didn't give a shit about her toenails. I was thankful she didn't wear that Tuesday. I wouldn't have survived. I wasn't going to survive right now. I was thankful for the lose jeans because I was getting hard. Maybe this was a bad idea.

She rubbed her sleep-filled eyes. "Phil, is everything okay?" She asked drowsily.

Very bad idea, but I was here and I wasn't backing off. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you."

She shook her head and smiled at me. "I was up but I guess I fell asleep on the couch."

"Hard night?" I asked curious.

She shrugged. "Busy night." She replied. "Is everything okay?"

I nodded. "I had a question."

"What?" She was still smiling.

"Are you any good at video games?"

Confusion entered her eyes. "Video games?"

I nodded. "I picked up the newest UFC fighting game for my Wii and I need an opponent."

Her grin got bigger. "And you're asking me?"

Another nod. "I am."

Her hand found her hip and she cocked her head. "Thinking I'll be an easy target."

I grinned. "Not at all, peanut. In fact I think you'll give me a run for my money."

She laughed. "Oh I don't want your money. I want you on your knees begging for mercy."

That made me laugh. "Bring it on, little girl."

She giggled. "Oh I will!" She replied winking. "Give me twenty minutes and I'll be knocking on your door."

"See ya in twenty." I replied smiling.

* * *

"I can't fight a girl."

She laughed. "Why not? It's only a game."

I shook my head. "I'll feel like I need to take it easy on ya because you're a girl."

She rolled her eyes and giggled. "Fine, I'll be this guy."

She picked a big ugly brute with nappy hair and sunken eyes. He was probably twice as big as the guy I had chosen. He was definitely ugly as hell. I grinned.

I raked my eyes over her small form. She had shown up at my doorstep exactly fourteen minutes later, her hair in a ponytail, shoeless; wearing a baby blue tank top and gray yoga shorts. Her toenails matched her top. Of course, they always matched.

"You do look a little like him." I commented.

Her mouth dropped opened and her eyes narrowed. "Oh you're asking for it, Mr. Brooks." She warned me.

For the next hour we played the UFC fighting game and Ashley gave as good as I gave her. She never let up even when she began to get tired. And she was getting tired. Her punches were losing their jab and her kicks were losing their height. After a few minutes, I knocked out her character and she flopped down on the couch in defeat.

"You won fair and square, Mr. Brooks."

I turned off the game and came to stand in front of her. She looked up at me with nose wrinkled. "I did win and now I will claim my prize."

She raised an eyebrow. "I've got some ice cream and Chinese food at my place." She offered.

I thought about it for a minute and nodded. "Chinese food sounds pretty damn good, but I don't eat meat, peanut."

Her smile brightened. "I've got some noodles and eggrolls that don't contain any meat."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Call it a hunch."

I didn't dwell on it. In fact I kind of liked it. "Let's go eat. I'm starving."

Together we walked over to her condo and while she heated the leftover Chinese food, I couldn't help but ask. "What exactly is it that you do?"

She cut me a look as she separated the food onto two separate plates. "I write children's books." She replied softly.

My eyes widened. "Really?"

She handed me a plate and nodded. "It's a series about a little black and white mini Rex rabbit named Sammy."

I frowned. "Sammy Goes To St. Louis. Sammy Gets A New Toy. Sammy Goes Sledding. Sammy Doesn't Like The Rain."

Her eyes went wide and her smile went from bright to blinding. "You've heard of them?"

I nodded in reply. Who hadn't heard of them? Sammy the Bunny was one of the number one selling children's books today. Sammy Is Sad sold over three million copies in less the six months and that was just the first in the series. Kids loved Sammy the Bunny, including my 'adopted' nieces and nephews. "I've read them actually to nieces and nephews. They're really good, peanut." I complimented her. The books were really good. She might even be better off than I was.

Once again her smile got so bright it was downright blinding. "Why do you call me that?" She asked shyly.

I met her eyes just as I took a bite of noodles. "You're small, pint sized. It just kind of slipped out."

She was chewing on her lower lip and I couldn't resist reaching over and plucking that lower lip from being chewed up. Her breath caught in her throat and I was sure I heard a whimper leave her throat. I was just as affected and I didn't get it. I've never been this affected by any woman.

"Phil?" She sounded unsure and whatever she was unsure about, I wanted to reassure her.

My eyes dropped to her mouth. "Yeah?"

"I've never had a nickname before." She admitted softly.

My eyes went from her mouth to her eyes at that statement. Was she serious? Looking into her eyes, I knew she was. I gave her lopsided grin. "Well, you've got one now, peanut."

Her smile just about blinded me.

* * *

**Sunday Morning June 23, 2013**

"Where are you headed?" She asked.

"Charleston in South Carolina."

She nodded. "Do you think Paul lied?" She questioned softly.

That was a good question, but instead of thinking about Paul and whether or not he lied to me, I focused my attention on Ashley. She was sitting in the middle of my bed, hair in a ponytail, toenails painted a bright purple and she was wearing the same outfit she was wearing when she first came knocking on my front door; the butterfly outfit. She was cute as hell, but what I had gotten attached to was that smile on her face. It was definitely addicting, that smile.

We had spent a lot of time together since Friday. She didn't like talking about her past just as I didn't so we didn't talk about the past. I also found out that James is her publicity agent and she called him her boss because he acted like he was sometimes. Well James had better watch the way he acted because now that I was around, no one would be messing with her.

"Phil?" Her quiet voice broke through my thoughts. That was another thing I liked about her. She never called me Punk. Always Phil or when she was teasing, Mr. Brooks. I liked it.

I shrugged. "I don't know, peanut, but if he is he'll regret it." I told her honestly.

She nodded. "I don't think he was."

I shot her a look as I continued packing. "Why is that? I thought you weren't a Heyman fan?"

She wrinkled her little nose. "I'm not. He's too arrogant and self-centered. But if he did lie than it's going to hurt you."

I let out a sigh. Damn, she was too damn sweet. She was slowly changing me and I didn't like it. In fact, I was glad I would be leaving for Charleston. I needed a break from all her damn sweetness.

I stopped packing to grip her upper arms and pulled her to me. We were now chest to chest and I was pleased to feel her nipples harden against my bare chest. She blinked up at me, her breathing coming in soft little pants. I was enjoying this immensely, but I wasn't letting her know that.

"What do you think of Brock?" I asked her out of the blue. I figured I needed to know just to be sure.

Her nose immediately wrinkled in disgust. "He scares me." She whispered.

I nodded. "Good. Stay away from him."

Her eyes widened. "When would I ever be around him?" She asked, looking at me like I've lost my mind.

I gave her a small shake. "I'm just saying Ashley, if you ever see him or Paul or even Axel, stay the hell away from them. I'm serious." I told her firmly. I still wasn't sure if Paul wouldn't do something completely stupid.

She nodded slowly. "I won't go anywhere near them, Phil. I promise."

"Good." I replied before brushing my mouth against hers. Now I've gotten use to the jolts of whatever kind of electricity that goes through me when I simply touch her, but I wasn't ready for what happened when my mouth touched hers. Her breathing stopped altogether, but I couldn't even control mine. My stomach was flipping, my head was pounding, and my ears were ringing. All from a simple brush of our mouths.

I pulled back and met her wide eyes. She licked her lips. "Phil?" My voice came out a whimper and I smiled.

"Let's try that again, shall we?"

She opened her mouth to protest, but I never gave her a chance. My lips were on hers before she could gasp. Her hand came up to rest at the base of my neck as my mouth coaxed hers to open. I dipped my tongue inside and touched the tip of hers and she whimpered. As my tongue explored the inside of her mouth, I was almost sure I was drowning. She was pure liquid fire and she was burning the hell out of me.

Her arms went around my neck and her tongue delved inside my mouth. Oh hell, she was going to fucking kill me. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed my way down her jaw line. Her hands went through my hair and she whimpered again.

"Phil?"

Something in her voice made me stop and I pulled back to look at her. "What?" I spoke, my voice harsh.

She licked her lips. "You have really soft hair."

I blinked in surprise. "That's why you stopped me?"

She shook her head and licked her lips again. My eyes dropped to her mouth and I leaned in to get another taste. She was exquisite. Her hand on my bare chest stopped me as did the jolt of awareness that went through me.

"You have to get ready because you're leaving in an hour and I've got to ready for tonight." She stated her voice soft and filled with regret. I had forgotten she had some kind of charity thing she was going to.

I brushed my mouth across hers and nodded. "I'll be back Thursday." I told her and she nodded mutely. "Friday at the latest." I added and she nodded again. "And when I return, we'll continue this." I warned her.

She nodded. "I'm not a ring rat though."

I grinned and smacked a kiss on her mouth. "Oh I know you're not." I replied as I quickly threw in a few more things and shut my suit case.

She stared at me for a few minutes. "You do?"

I nodded. "Of course."

I grabbed my suitcase with one hand and in the other hand I interlocked our fingers, pulling her into the living area.

"Oh."

I actually laughed at the confused look on her face. I dropped my suitcase by the door and then placed Ashley against the door and pressed my hard length against her softer one. I was moving so fast she was having a hard time keeping up. I gripped her chin between my thumb and forefinger and brought her eyes to meet mine.

"Phil?"

"I want you to stay at my place while I'm gone."

Her eyes widened. "What? Why?"

I dipped my head to lick the seam of her mouth and once again her breath caught in her throat. "I like the idea of you in my bed, waiting for me to return." I told her.

"Oh."

I chuckled. "Cat got your tongue?"

She shook her head. "I don't … I'm not…"

I grinned. "A ring rat, I know this."

She nodded mutely. Not sure of what to say.

"Do you want to know how I know you're not a ring rat?"

She nodded again.

"Because you're mine and I don't share." I told her because that was all that mattered.

She gulped. "W-w-what?" She stuttered.

"I want you and when I get back I intend to satisfy that craving."

"Oh."

She didn't seem sure and that bothered me.

"I'll tell ya what. If by the time I get home and you're not sure you want to take this to bed then that's okay. I'm not going to force you, but if you want me as much as I want you and I think you do, then be waiting for me in my bed."

She nodded. "Okay, I can do that."

I smiled and kissed her softly. "But I want to be clear, peanut. This isn't forever. I'm a better friend than a boyfriend or husband. We clear on that?"

"Friends with benefits."

This time I nodded. "Exactly."

"But we'll still be friends once the benefit part is over?" She questioned.

I kissed her again, slowly and fully. "Definitely." I muttered against her mouth.

She nodded as she wrapped her arms around my neck, through my hair, and opened her mouth. I groaned as my tongue dipped in to taste her. I hoped she was waiting in my bed come Friday. If I lasted that long.

* * *

Author's Note: Sammy the bunny was my little bunny. My husband got him for me for Valentine's Day in 2012. He died December 3, 2012. He was the best little bunny ever! I still miss him! RIP Sammy!


	5. Confusion

**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO BLACKWIDOW101, XTREMEDIVA13, KEPOUROS, RANDYORTONRULES62, KEEPER OF OZ, TAMMY, AND TANYA2BYOUR21 FOR YOUR REVIEWS! I LOVE EACH ONE! **

Author's Note: Who saw SummerSlam? OHMYGOSH! The match between Punk and Lesnar was awesome and if Heyman hadn't interfered, we all know Punk would have won. And what about Randy Orton and HHH? Just wow!

Chapter Five  
Confusion

**Monday June 24, 2013**

_I dropped my duffel bag at the front door and slammed it shut behind me. I inhaled deeply, but didn't smell anything different or out of place. More importantly, I didn't smell her. Was she here? In my bed? Was she naked or wearing something skimpy and I would get the pleasure of ripping it off of her? I made sure the front door was locked before I stalked silently towards my bedroom. The door was slightly ajar and I could make out a small lump in the middle of my bed. Just like that, I had a lump in my throat. She wanted me as much as I wanted her and tonight I would ruin her for all other men. _

_I pushed the door opened and Ashley's eyes met mine. Those deep chocolate depths were filled with arousal and apprehension. My own hazel-green eyes were filled with horniness as they drink in the sight before me. She was dressed in a white baby doll style nightie that was completely see through except for the small pieces of fabric covering her small breasts. She was spread out on my white comforter but in no means did she disappear. In fact, she stood out like a virgin sacrifice. A sexy, seductive devil incarnate, virgin sacrifice, but a sacrifice nonetheless. A pair of white panties covered her most sensitive place and I licked my lips in anticipation. Dark curls were clearly visible underneath those sexy tiny white panties and I wanted nothing more than to rip them off her sexy little body. All tanned skin, innocent eyes, and curious looks were making it difficult to breath and impossible to think. But there was more to see and I wanted to see it all. _

_I swallowed hard. "Stand up." I ordered in a harsh tone. _

_She didn't hesitate. She stood up immediately and so damn elegantly. She now stood before me, staring at me with the most innocent expression I had ever seen on her expressive face. Fucking hell, she looked so damned innocent. She was breathing hard and her skin was flushed. Her nipples were hard through the thin material and there was a small wet spot on her white panties. I was sure I had died and gone to fucking somewhere. _

"_Turn around." I gave her another demand and once again she didn't hesitate. She slowly turned and I whimpered at the sight of her small little ass. Thank the smart bastard who invented thongs. _

"_I hate thongs." She told me once she stood facing me she read my mind?  
_

_I cocked an eyebrow. "Then why are you wearing one?" I asked her grinning. _

_She shrugged. "It's your dream." _

_That statement made me frown. "This is a dream?" _

_She nodded and it was then I noticed. She had yet to smile. She wasn't smiling. Where the hell was that smile I had grown accustomed to? I wanted that smile. And her chocolate eyes were haunted. What the fuck?_

"_Of course this is a dream. If it wasn't, do you really think I would be wearing this?" She held up her hands at her sides, palms up. _

"_What's wrong with what you're wearing? It's sexy as hell." My mind forgot about everything but the vision in front of me._

_Her frown deepened. "This is such a man thing. Only a man would pick this out for a woman to wear. My toenails don't even match." She replied, sticking out one slender foot to show me her toes which were a deep purple. The same color I had last seen them. _

"_What would you be wearing if this were your dream?" I asked curious. _

_She gave another shrug and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Something normal that's for sure." _

_I took a step forward. "What's normal?" _

_Another shrug and a flash of uncertainty in her eyes. "Like just regular clothes. Or maybe something out of your closet." She replied nonchalantly._

_That should have sent a round of panic through me. I hated when women tried wearing my clothes. It meant they were becoming possessive and by wearing my t-shirts they wanted me to feel possessive towards them. That's right, ladies, us men know what you're thinking there. It doesn't make me feel that way at all. It sends me into a full panic. Normally. The thought of Ashley going through my closet, picking out something to wear, to sleep in, something that I could rip off her hot little body made me feel possessive. Shit._

"_So why didn't you?" _

_She shrugged. "It's your dream." _

_My eyes narrowed. "If this was your dream, what would you want?" I asked. _

_She licked her lips. "Your shirt gone." She replied quickly. _

_I grinned with satisfaction. I had my shirt off in a matter of seconds. "What else?" _

"_The pants too of course." She told me, still unsmiling. Where the hell was the damn smile?_

_I had my jeans off just as quickly as my shirt. I left my boxers on. Not that it really matter. My erection was clearly evident through the blue material. _

"_What now?" I asked. _

_She shrugged. "Your dream, Punk." _

_That made me frown. Ashley never called me Punk. "Who are you?" I asked warily. _

_Her eyes widened. "What do you mean?"_

"_The Ashley I know does not call me Punk. She calls me Phil." _

"_It's your dream, Phil. Not mine." She replied defensively. _

"_Take that off." I ordered motioning towards the white ensemble she was wearing. Suddenly, I just wanted her clothes gone and I wanted deep inside her warmth. _

_She nodded. "First, answer your phone." _

_What? _

I jolted out of bed, covered in sweat and panting. My phone was ringing but my mind was too sluggish to locate the damn thing. It stopped ringing but immediately went to ringing again. I finally located the stupid thing in the pocket of my jeans that I had been wearing the night before. I answered it without looking at who it was.

"Yeah?"

"Punk? You sound horrible. Are you okay?"

I dropped back onto the bed, flopping onto my back and stretching out. "I'm fine, Chez. What's up?"

"You're so lying but that's okay. You'll tell me when you're ready." She stated with cockiness that made me grin. "I was wondering if you were coming over this weekend. It's the family reunion, remember? We all miss you."

I sighed. "You all see me all the time, Chez. We live in the same city."

She let out her exaggerated sigh. "Does that mean you're not coming?"

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I've got plans this weekend, Chez so I can't make it."

"Plans? For business or personal?" She asked being nosy.

"Chez." I stated her name in a way of warning.

She chuckled. "I'll take that as you've got personal business. Will I get to meet this one?" She teased.

"Chez." I barked her name in another warning.

She laughed. "I'll let mom know that you won't be there. Everything else okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be, Chez?"

"You were … forgetful on the mic. You've never forgotten anything while talking. You seemed distracted too and I saw Heyman the other day and he was not happy with you, but he wouldn't tell me why."

Damn Heyman. "It's all business, Chez. I'm fine." I reassured her before telling her good bye and getting off the phone. I looked at the time and felt relief that I still had several hours before I had to get to the arena. Hell, I was in my damn bus and already at the arena so after tossing my phone back to the floor, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

_She was dressed in something so virginal that I was starting to wonder if my subconscious was letting me know that she was a virgin. This white nightgown covered her from throat to ankle and everything in between. It was decked out in lace and ribbons and little ruffles and crap. What the fuck?! She was dressed virginal but what came out of her mouth was anything but. _

"_I need you to fuck me." She replied without a trace of a smile. _

_My eyes widened and my cock hardened. What is it about that dirty little word coming out of a sexy woman's mouth that was so fucking irresistible? And why was I hesitating? "You __**need**__ for me to fuck you?" I asked, stressing one word in particular. _

_She nodded slowly, her eyes full of uncertainty. "I need you really bad." She whispered licking her lips. _

_My body gave a tight shudder in response. "Tell me more." I ordered. _

_She blinked and nodded. "My pussy aches for you." _

_My cock throbbed. My breath quickened. "More." _

"_I want your thick hard cock in my tight little pussy." She whispered huskily. _

_I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "I am dreaming, aren't I?" I had to be because no way would the Ashley I know talk like this. Although I was definitely going to try and get her to say a few of these dirty words._

_She nodded in confirmation. "Why else would I be saying this? I wouldn't be able to any other way. Especially not in front of you." _

_I nodded. "That explains it then."_

_She cocked her head. "Explains what?" She asked curious. _

"_Why you're still wearing clothes and I'm naked." I replied. _

_She nodded surely. "You know what you look like naked, but not me."_

_I nodded as I walked up to her. "Are you a virgin?" I asked, holding my breath waiting for the answer. _

"_The definition of virgin states that I am not."_

_Her response confused me. "What's the definition of virgin?" _

_She sighed. "A person, typically a woman, who has never had sexual intercourse, is what every other person goes with, but the definition that more or less applies to me is not yet touched, used, or exploited. Because all three pertain to me. So I am definitely not a virgin." _

I woke up covered in even more sweat. Hell, I was fucking soaked in sweat. What in the hell did she mean by that? She didn't sound right. She sounded broken and sad. That wasn't the Ashley I knew. Was I having guilt about the way I treated her before I left? Was I feeling guilt for treating her too rough? I wouldn't be able to focus on anything tonight unless I knew for sure. I knew that I should push the dreams aside, especially that last one, but I just couldn't do it.

So after taking a quick shower and dressing in my typical fashion, jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie, I dialed Ashley's cell phone number.

She answered with a smile in her voice. "Hello?"

I felt relief instantly and I hated it almost as quickly. "Hey." I responded. Great conversation skills, Punk.

"Nervous?" She asked.

What a weird question. "Why would I be nervous?" I asked.

"Why else would you call?"

For some reason that hurt. "To find out if you slept in my bed last night." I replied, lowering my voice.

She inhaled sharply. "No I didn't."

Damn. "Why not?"

"It felt too weird." She whispered.

"I want you in my bed when I come home Friday, Peanut."

"And if I don't?" She asked, her voice heated, but I could still hear the smile there.

"Then I'll come find you and take you back to my bed, but one way or the other, you will be in my bed." I replied smugly before hanging up with no warning.

I paced the length of my bus for the next thirty minutes wondering what the fuck had come over me. I wasn't like this, was I? I had never talked to a woman like that before. Well, maybe I talked to Lita like that once or twice but we had been in a relationship for quite some time and well… it was Lita. She liked it and enjoyed it. Ashley came off innocent and she was sweet as candy. I shouldn't have said that, so why did I?

My phone buzzed with a text message and I quickly pulled it up. It was from Ashley. Probably telling me to get lost and fuck off. I wouldn't blame her, but her message shocked me even more than telling me to get lost or fuck off.

**Don't worry so hard, Phil. It will be okay. You'll see. :-) **

Damn. Now what the hell did I say to that?

* * *

**Monday Night Raw**

I perched myself on a large black trunk just in time for my phone to beep with a text message. I had been trying to get in touch with Paul all night so I was pretty damned positive that it was finally getting back to me. I was wrong.

**Hi Phil! I know you're probably fretting over confronting Heyman tonight, and I've got nothing to make you feel better. Sorry. I just wanted to let you know that I'm in front of YOUR television on YOUR white leather sofa and I'm watching Raw.**

She was in my condo and on my couch. That made me feel a little bit better… but I wanted to know what she was wearing. That would make me feel even better.

**What are you wearing? **

I asked her and waited for her response. It didn't take but a minute and I chuckled softly.

**Clothes**

**Describe them to me, Peanut.**

I used the nickname I gave her hoping she would tell me. I got the response I wanted.

**:-) My Tinkerbell night shirt **

I groaned in reply and the image of Ashley's tiny sexy body in that barely there night gown made my dick twitch. She probably didn't have a clue what that barely there nightie did to me and therefore I would never tell her. Before I could reply I was interrupted by Vicki Guerrero. Fuck!

She cleared her throat. "Punk?"

I looked up from my phone. "Paul Heyman here yet?" I asked curtly.

She shook her head. "I haven't seen him, but what I wanted to tell you…"

I interrupted her. "Is Brock Lesnar here?"

"I haven't seen him either." She replied. "I don't know if he's going to be here tonight." She added. "Look, Punk, I'm putting you in a match tonight." She told me then waited for me to respond, but I was too busy texting back Ashley.

**Do you have anything else on besides that? **

"Did you hear me?" Vicki asked me.

**I have on a pair of panties.** That was Ashley's reply. Damn. I wondered if I could get her to tell me what color were her panties.

"I am talking to you." Vicki informed me.

**What color are they, Peanut?** I asked Ashley, hoping like hell she would tell me.

"You are in a match tonight." Vicki told me again.

**The same color as Tinkerbell.** That was Ashley's response to my color question. I just had to know if she matched.

**What color are your toenails? **

"Excuse ME!"

Vicki's annoying voice loud in my ear pissed me off and I stood up, towering over her. "EXCUSE ME!" I yelled in her face. I just wanted to have a very private conversation with Ashley and I hated when I was bothered with shit I didn't care about. "Let me know if Paul Heyman and/or Brock Lesnar show up." I told her then I snarled thanks in her direction before walking off. My phone vibrated in my hand and I looked down at the message.

**:-) Tinkerbell green **

That made me smile.

* * *

"I don't mean to bore anybody with this dirty laundry between … two friends." I immediately apologized for doing this in front of thousands upon thousands of people, but what McMahon wants, McMahon gets. Money talks.

"Now that I've got that out of the way there are two things I want to say to you."

There was so much more I wanted to say to Paul Heyman, but there was no way I was dragging Ashley into any of this. The less Paul thought about Ashley, the better.

"Me and you are going to come second. The first thing is I want you to tell Brock Lesnar I'm coming for him." The crowd cheered and I waited for almost silence to continue. "Do you understand? I don't care that he's bigger than me. I don't care that he's stronger than me. Because he's not _better_ than me."

Paul stood there staring at me, nodding his agreement to everything I was saying. Now he was agreeable in front of these people, but in privacy he was anything but congenial.

"You know what I'm going to say next. I'm the best wrestler on the planet… And you know it better than anybody and I'm going to say it straight up to your face because Brock doesn't have the balls to be here today to hear it from me."

There was something in the hidden depths of Heyman's eyes that were bothering me, but I tried to focus on the here and now and not what he might be thinking.

"You know me personally. You know there's no one more sadistic, there's no one more relentless, there's no one more dangerous. So if he's your friend, if he's client you let him know I'm going to do whatever I have to, I will do whatever it takes and I'm going to bring your beast incarnate down."

Heyman stood there nodding and I just wanted to walk away. I didn't want to go through this, but Ashley's words and encouragement made me forge on.

"And now we can finally address the elephant in the room, what happened last week. Now because of our pasts… because no matter how warnings I ever got about you or how many horror stories I heard about how much money you owed somebody… or how many times you stabbed people in the back, you never did me wrong. So last week did Brock Lesnar attack me on his own … or did Brock Lesnar attack me because you saw the writing on the wall after Payback? Because I told you I don't want you ring side anymore. It's just business. Did you sic Brock Lesnar on me and this me talking to you, Paul. For the first time in your life, I want you to tell the truth. Because I'm not them. And don't try to lie to me and don't try to manipulative me like you lie and manipulative to everybody else. This is me standing here. I can take it. Tell me it was tough love. Tell me you sent Brock Lesnar after me and I can accept it. But I just need to know the truth. So for the first time in your life make me the exception of the rule and don't lie to me. Look me in the eye. I want you to swear on your children that you didn't have anything to do with it or you tell me you did. Either way come clean right here right now. For the first time in your life, Paul Heyman, you tell the truth!"

By the time I finished what I needed to say, I was yelling. When I finished the fans began to chant, tell the truth, tell the truth. I just hoped Paul told me the truth. When he started talking, I was sure he was going to admit sending Brock Lesnar after me and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. If he did lie to me, I would know it immediately or so I hoped. When he spoke of his children and then stated he didn't know about Brock Lesnar coming after me, I was sure he was telling the truth. But something told me that he was lying. I wanted to deny it, but deep down I knew he was lying.

Now what the hell did I do?

* * *

I said hey to the driver before immediately stripping and stepping into the shower. My match with Darren Young went routine as ever and I didn't have any doubts that I would win, but what did surprise me was Titus' interference. What surprised me even more was Curtis Axel's help defending off the two men. I just had a feeling that was Paul covering his own ass, showing me that he was indeed telling me the truth earlier that evening. But the only thing it did for me was confirm what I already knew.

Paul Heyman was lying to me. I told the McMahons as soon as I could and their reply was to ignore the lie and believe what he told me. For business they said. But everything in me was screaming not to trust him, not to believe him. Ashley told me to follow my gut instinct and my gut was telling me that Paul Heyman was lying through his yellow tinted teeth. But for business purposes I had to believe that he was speaking the truth.

When he said that he wasn't stupid, the look in his eyes got to me. Something in his eyes was telling me to stay the hell away from him. No… they were telling me to keep Ashley the fuck away from him. But how did I do that without scaring Ashley? If I did warn her, would she take me seriously?

I stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. After dressing in a pair of comfortable sweat pants, I checked my schedule. I wanted nothing more than to head back to Chicago until next week's Raw. If it was in any way possible. I didn't have to make an appearance at tomorrow's taping of SmackDown and I had an interview on Wednesday and an autograph signing on Thursday. Everything else I just rescheduled. So I told the bus driver I wanted to go home and Chicago bound we were. It didn't but twenty minutes of driving on the open road before I was out.

_"Punk, you're home early."_

_My eyes narrowed and I took a deep breath. She was in that Tinkerbell night gown and her toenails were painted green. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and there was no smile in place. And she called me Punk. Who the hell was this Ashley?_

_"Don't call me that." I barked harshly._

_She shrugged. "It's your dream." She replied._

_I growled. "I'm dreaming again?"_

_She nodded, her eyes going wide. "You don't know you're dreaming?" She asked curious._

_I shook my head then nodded. "I think I kind of do know that I'm dreaming, but why am I dreaming of you?"_

_She shrugged._

_"Do you dream of me?" I asked._

_She nodded._

_"What do you dream about?"_

_"Us." She whispered._

_"What about us?" I asked, walking towards her. I suddenly wanted her in my arms._

_"Us talking. Us playing the Wii. Us eating out and going dancing. Us making love. Us having sex. Us fucking."_

_My mouth dropped open in surprise and I took her in my arms as I reached her side. "Which do you like more?"_

_She licked her lips. "Us."_

_I cocked my head in confusion. "Us what?"_

_"I like us. I like us being together in that way."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because I can actually see it happening." She spoke genuinely._

_Her answer confused me. "Are you sure you aren't a virgin?" I asked again._

_She nodded. "I'm not a virgin, Phil. I promise."_

_I was thankful she wasn't a virgin. That would have been too much for me. But then again I was trusting dream Ashley's word so it could have been a complete lie or just what I wanted to hear. I wasn't sure which one. She was watching me with these eyes that spoke of nothing but innocence, betrayal, and hurt. She still wasn't smiling._

_"How come you won't smile? Ashley always has a smile on her face."_

_"Because she has a reason to smile."_

_I shook my head in even more confusion. "And you don't?" I questioned kissing her forehead._

_She shook her head. "I can never smile."_

I came awake in an instant, confused as hell and wigged the fuck out. This dream Ashley was trying to tell me something, but I didn't get it. I looked out the window in time to see a road sign. I would be home by early morning and I was going to get my answers.


	6. Tinkerbell & the Wine Cabinet

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO KEEPER OF OZ, XTREMEDIVA13, KEPOUROS, TAMMY, RANDYORTONRULES62, HEERAH34, TANYA2BYOUR21, KANE09LISA, & FALLOUT FOR YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS! I LOVED THEM ALL! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING! And Rose if you're reading this... thank you so so much!

Warning: SMUT!

Chapter Six  
Tinkerbell & the Wine Cabinet

**Tuesday Morning June 25, 2013**

It was quiet in Ashley's condo. Or at least I didn't hear anything from the hallway so I hurriedly unlocked my front door and stepped inside. I dropped my duffel bag on the floor at my feet. I looked around and nothing seemed out of place so if Ashley was here she didn't touch anything. I had to control the urge to run to my bedroom to see if Ashley was asleep in my bed. It was hard but I forced myself to go into the kitchen instead. I grabbed a bottle of water and guzzled half of it immediately. My mouth was dry with the prospect of what was going to happen when I walked into my bedroom.

I wanted Ashley more than I've ever wanted another woman, including Lita and Aj. Okay, my relationship with Aj was a joke, but I was just getting my point across. I wanted her and I had no doubt that she wanted me. But three dreams in one day were strange especially for me. And these dreams weren't normal and I knew what I had to do. I needed to talk to Ashley before anything happened between the two of us.

"Phil?" Ashley's soft smiling voice came from behind me and I turned around with the bottle of water still in my hand.

I groaned. She was still in that Tinkerbell nightgown and she was standing in my kitchen. Unlike dream Ashley, she had a huge smile on her face. "You're home early." She stated with a smile on her face and a smile in her voice.

I nodded mutely unable to do anything but stare at her tanned legs and smooth skin. I licked my lips. For some reason my brain wouldn't function so I wasn't capable of talking to the sexy vision in front of me. Then she began to close the short distance between us, her steps slow but sure, and my brain started to short circuit. She stopped right in front of me, looking me in the eyes as she licked her lips.

"Welcome home, Phil." She whispered as her arms wound around my neck and threaded through my hair. She then pulled my head down to hers and her mouth latched on to mine. My eyes widened in response and I froze… for about five seconds. I wrapped my arms around her and crushed her to me.

I had kind of gotten use to the jolts of electricity that shot through upon touching Ashley, but I was totally unprepared for this. I've always heard of people hearing bells or fireworks going off or something like that when kissing a woman, but I thought they had lost their crazy ass minds. But now… kissing Ashley… I heard the bells and I saw fireworks behind my eyes and I could hear them going off in my head. Every single touch of her tongue, another explosion would go off and as her fingers tightened in my hair and she let out a soft whimper, the bells got louder.

I gripped her hips and lifted her. "Wrap your legs around my waist, peanut." I demanded against her mouth.

She readily complied, her legs wrapping around my waist and her ankles locked behind my back as her fingers once again tightened in my hair. It brought her most sweetest spot right against my erection.

I cupped her ass and moaned in appreciation. "Good girl." I muttered, kissing down her jaw –the stubble on my face leaving red marks on her soft skin– as her mouth skimmed mine.

She stiffened in my arms and I stopped all movement, fear of her calling an end to this holding me in place. She tugged on my hair until I pulled back to look into her haunted chocolate eyes. I had never seen her eyes like that. Wait… Yes I had. In my dreams.

"Don't ever call me that."

Her voice wobbled but she gave me no doubt that she meant it. I shook my head. "I won't. Ever again." I promised. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder why she didn't like being called a good girl.

She nodded and once more covered my mouth with hers. She knew what she wanted and I was all for it. But not in my kitchen. Holding on to her small little ass, I carried her into my bedroom, our mouths never slowing down. Her tongue dueled with mine and the noise she was making was driving me slowly insane. Whimpers and moans left her throat as she sucked on my tongue and nipped my bottom lip. She tasted so damned good. A cross between spearmint toothpaste and fresh baked bread. So good, she tasted.

I laid her on the bed, following her down as I did so. I tried to pull back, to start getting rid of some clothes, but I wasn't able to as she kept a firm grip on my hair and sucked harder on my tongue. I groaned deep in my throat and managed to pull my mouth away. Ashley immediately went to kissing and sucking on my neck and I couldn't help but growl.

"Either you take Tink off or I'm going to rip it off, peanut. I want you naked." I growled against the soft skin of her neck.

She whimpered again and it went straight to my dick. She pushed against my chest and I pulled back with a grin. I knew that would get her moving.

"You can't rip my Tinkerbell, Phil." She told me as she pulled the shirt up and over her head.

And I wept.

Small, firm, and probably barely a B cup, but her tits were fucking perfect. The nipples were little erasers and the color was a deep rose color and hard as little rocks. I leaned down and took one rosy nipple in my mouth and sucked hard. Ashley arched her back and cried out. Her fingers found my hair again and pulled with each hard suck of my mouth. I couldn't get enough of her sweet tasting flesh.

"Phil, please." She begged.

I smiled against her breasts, a nipple in my mouth. "Please what?" I asked.

"No foreplay. I just want you."

I pulled back to look at her, which wasn't easy with the grip she had on my hair. "No foreplay? Peanut, I'm not exactly hung like a horse, but you're small as hell and I'll probably end up hurting you with no foreplay." I told her.

She arched her hips towards me and shook her head. "Please, I need you and I'm ready. Screw the foreplay for now."

My hand slipped down between her legs and underneath her green panties. I growled when I encountered nothing but wetness. "Oh fuck, peanut. You're fucking soaked. How are you this fucking wet?" My fingers teased her clit before I slipped one single digit inside her tight sheath. Oh fucking hell! "You're tight as shit, peanut." I moaned as I fucked her with first one finger and then two fingers. She tightened around my digits as her orgasm deemed closer and closer.

She was too tight. So damn tight. "Are you a virgin, peanut?" I asked. I had to know. I wasn't sure if it would be a deal breaker or not, but I had to know.

Her head was thrown back and she moaned low in her throat. "No." She said, shaking her head. "Need you." She added with a whimper.

My breath caught in my throat hearing those words while awake. I pulled my fingers from her warmth and she whined. "I'm just taking my pants off, peanut and grabbing a condom." I informed her as I pulled her panties from her body.

Her eyes met mine and she nodded. I shed my pants and grabbed a condom. I watched her as I sheathed myself, her eyes never leaving my cock. Her breathing hitched as I finished and I took a step closer to the bed. She licked her lips and met my eyes. Fuck, she was beautiful like this. Her tanned skin rosy and pink and covered in red splotches from my facial hair. Her nipples were hard and her thighs were glistening from her wetness.

I settled myself over her, my eyes never leaving hers. I positioned my throbbing cock at her tight channel, entering her with one hard thrust, taking her breath away. I filled her, completely. Oh fuck, she was so damned tight. Her little muscles were clenching around my cock, milking me, begging me to move; to cum. She wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, her fingers threading through my short hair. My mouth covered hers as my cock pummeled her. I pulled almost completely out before entering her again, and Ashley embraced the volatile meeting of our bodies.

Her legs squeezed tighter around my waist as she met my powerful strokes, our sweat-soaked bodies melding together seamlessly. Her muscles tightened around me, fluttering as her orgasm came closer and closer until she finally came, flying apart, her body trembling and her sweet pussy contracting, nails biting into the skin of my back. She screamed my name, rocking her fiery body into mine, milking my cock as her orgasm crested and then let her come back to earth slowly.

"Fuck. Ash. Peanut." I groan against her mouth as I came, my explosive orgasm taking my own breath. I don't think I'd ever come that damn hard before. If there was a heaven, she would be it. I rolled off her immediately, clutching her against me, pulling her into the protective shelter of my arms.

My chest still heaving, I choked out, "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head, her body quivering in my arms. "No," she whispered, still short of breath. "You gave me exactly what I needed." She admitted.

There was that word again. Need. What in the hell did she mean by I gave her exactly what she needed? Was I too rough? Did she need it rough? Did she like it rough? I wasn't sure, but I wasn't going to question it right now. I had better things to do.

After removing the condom and tossing it into the trash can beside my bed, I moved so I was facing Ashley who was still flat on her back. My fingers began to trace her swollen, sensitive nipples and she arched her back, moaning. She was so responsive, so quick to …well… respond. Very easily aroused. Damn, it was fucking hot. I pinched one hard nipple and she gasped. I grinned as I reached over and pinched her other nipple.

"Please Phil." She whimpered, her voice hoarse from her earlier screaming.

"Please, what? What do you want?" I asked her harshly.

She reached down and grasped my rapidly hardening cock. "You. Again." She replied, chewing on her bottom lip.

I inhaled sharply, nodding, trailing my fingers over her soft skin, watching the goose bumps come to the surface and she shivered.

"I think not. At least not yet. I'm having a craving of my own, Peanut. I want to taste you so bad I ache with it. I know you're wet and I'm about to make you a whole lot wetter."

Her eyes went hazy and she whimpered. "Yes." Fucking hell, that sexy voice.

I raised up on my arms, over her, my cock against her lower belly. She bucked her hips, but she couldn't budge my rock solid body. My sweaty skin was plastered against her, but I kept most of my weight from her with my arms. Looking up, she met my wild intense hazel-green eyes, begging me with her dark pools of chocolate.

"You're going to come for me while I taste you, Peanut." My voice was raspy, and I buried my face in her hair, biting gently at her neck, before I licked my way down to her breasts. She gasped as I tongued her breasts, moving from one to the other, as though he had all the time in the world to worship each sensitive nipple. I licked and sucked her nipples until she was writhing under me, unable to hold still. I moved down to her belly, stopping to flick my tongue into her belly button, laying moist, hot kisses to her stomach.

Finally, right before she was ready to scream in frustration, I spread her thighs. She shivered as I blew a warm breath on her pussy. She had a small patch of caramel colored hair that was saturated with the juices of her arousal. Sexiest thing ever. My fingers lightly caressed her mound and she growled. It was more like a soft purr, but I knew she was trying to growl at me for teasing her.

"I can smell your arousal, peanut. It's fucking hot as hell." I growled, my fingers trailing over her flesh.

She thrashed her head, whimpering. "Please Phil, I need you."

I smiled as my finger delved along her folds, slowly meandering deeper. "Like this?" I asked, my tone demanding.

"More," she begged.

"Like this?" I circled her clit, my finger gliding through her slick flesh.

"More. Damn it. More." She demanded of me.

I loved how she was slowly losing it, wanting to cum again. "Like this?" I asked as my mouth closed over her tender flesh, my tongue lapping, licking her arousal, consuming her.

"Oh, Phil. Yes. Yes. Yes." She moaned and whimpered. Her hips lifted, wanting, begging for more. I grinned against her clit. Maybe she was watching too much wrestling.

I parted her folds with my thumbs and buried my face in her pussy with a tortured reverberating sound, devouring her like a starving man, relentlessly flicking her clit.

"Yes. Please, Phil. Need you." She grasped my head, threading her fingers through my hair, moaning as she pulled me against her, rocking her hips as I pleasured her. I groaned against her flesh, loving her taste and how utterly hot and turned on she was. Her climax came fast and quick as it completely engulfed and consumed her. Ready to sob over the power of her release, she cried out my name as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her body. I was momentarily stunned as my brain took in what she had called me. She screamed out Phillip, not Phil. For some odd reason, I liked it a lot.

She tugged on my hair and I looked up, my mouth shining with her juices. She smiled at me and tugged my hair again. "Your turn." She announced with a mischief gleam in her eye.

My eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously.

She licked her lips and I groaned. "I want to taste you."

I just about came just from her saying that. I wasn't sure I would be able to handle anything else, but I wasn't turning down a blow job from that hot little mouth. I was up and on my back before she could blink. She smiled as she moved into position. She started with my neck, kissing and licking her way over each and every tattoo, tracing certain designs with her tongue and nipping others with her teeth. She flicked her tongue over one nipple before nipping it as well. She moved to the other nipple, treating it the same as the first one. I clenched my fists tight against the bed sheets to keep from reaching for her. I didn't know how much more I would be able to take. I gasped as she nipped my hipbone and she giggled softly.

I growled, my head dropping back onto the pillow as Ashley suddenly and without warning took my cock into her mouth, her tongue circling the bulbous head.

"You're going to kill me." I panted heavily as her consumed me completely.

She giggled. "What a way to go! Mmmm Phillip?" She teased, her mouth against the head of my cock. My full name on her lips was sexy as fuck.

"Fuck!" I cried out as she took as much of my length as she could, her lips tightening around me, sucking hard, her head bobbing as she devoured me. My hips rose, thrusting myself into her mouth as she came down for every stroke. I couldn't stop my hands reaching for her, fisting handfuls of her baby fine hair as I fucked her hot little mouth.

"Fuck, Ashley. Peanut, fuck!" I shouted incoherently as she continued to move faster, harder. I exploded, my release flowing into her mouth so satisfying that she moaned around my cock as she swallowed. Oh fucking hell, she fucking swallowed my fucking cum. Oh fuck, that was fucking hot.

She looked up at me and licked her lips and I went breathless; speechless. I knew right then that this couldn't last between us. She was too addicting and I was only a man. She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. Change to me was a bad thing because I didn't want to change. That was what she was doing; changing me. Everyone was trying to change me. I was getting fucking sick of it.

"Did you like it?" She asked tentatively.

I nodded. "If I liked it anymore, I'd be dead, peanut." I replied seriously.

She beamed at me. "Want to take a shower together?" She questioned hopefully.

My grin widened and I nodded. I'd worry about the changing thing tomorrow.

* * *

**Wednesday June 26, 2013**

My place was empty so I knocked on Ashley's door. I could have waited for her to just show up at my place whenever she was ready, but after fucking her all day yesterday, I wanted more. She was under my skin and I was going to work her out. Our friends with benefits was just beginning and I was ready for several more hours of hot sex. We had mainly kept to my bedroom yesterday, but I did fuck her on my bench press late last night. I'll never look at my bench press the same way again. Her holding on to the bar while she rode me cowgirl style was definitely a holy shit moment that I wouldn't soon forget. When she cums, she screams my full name, Phillip. Any other time she just calls me Phil so I don't get why she calls me Phillip when she's in a screaming orgasm, but it's hot as fuck so I don't really care.

I was definitely ready to sink myself into Ashley's warmth and forget all about that fucked up interview I just had with a local Chicago radio station. Most of our story lines are completely fake and our creators have hashed out each and every little detail down to what fucking underwear we wear and when. But sometimes, things happen in our real life that the creators take and weave into our current story lines. And right now they were focused on Paul and me. And Brock Lesnar. So today during my interview, they wanted to know how much was truly false and how much was real. They all believed that everything going on between Paul and me was truly made up and had no truth behind it, but that only pissed me off. After all, they didn't see the look in Paul's eyes when he spoke of Ashley.

"It's open, Phil."

Ashley's voice was muffled from the other side of the door but I still made out what she said and I didn't like it. I let myself in her condo and looked around. Nothing out of the place. Never was.

"Where are you, peanut?" I called out in question.

"The kitchen and I'm cooking us dinner."

I went into the kitchen, leaning up against the door jam and just watched her. She was dressed in a strapless white dress that reached mid-thigh with ruffles across her breasts. Her hair was pulled in a ponytail and fucking hell, her toenails were painted white with a blue star. She looked cute as shit. She looked over shoulder and smiled at me.

"Hey Phil!" She greeted me.

I gave her a stern look. "Why is your door unlocked?" I demanded to know.

She shrugged. "I knew you would be here and I was busy so I left it unlocked."

I strode over to her until she was trapped against the counter, her back to my front and my arms on either side of her, trapping her in place. "Don't do it again, peanut. It's too dangerous to leave your front door unlocked." I told her.

She backed up against me, her ass brushing against my now hardening cock. Her body was just too damned tempting. "We have a doorman, Phil and I seriously doubt I'm in any danger in this building."

"You can be in danger at any time so be careful." I warned. I didn't know if Paul would try anything but I didn't want to take that chance. Not with her. Not with any woman.

She wiggled her ass and I growled. "Stop that." I barked.

She laughed and did it again. "I'll be fine." She told me, wiggling her ass, making me harder.

"If you don't want to get fucked on your kitchen counter, you need stop that wiggling shit." I hissed through clench teeth.

She whimpered, nodded, and wiggled again. "Please Phil."

My head dropped back and I groaned. "What are you fixing for dinner?" I asked.

"Stuffed guinea eggplant with mushrooms and onions, topped with cheddar cheese. I've got them stuffed; I just need to grill them." She replied.

I turned her around and covered her mouth with mine. I explored her mouth with my tongue, nipping and sucking on hers. Her arms wrapped around my neck and her fingers found my hair. This little girl had a serious obsession with my hair. Which I found fucking sexy. With one hand I gripped her hip and with my free hand, I pulled down the top of her cotton dress so her breasts were exposed. She shivered in my arms and rubbed against me. Fuck, she was hot as hell.

"Foreplay or no foreplay, babe?" I asked against her mouth as I pinched her nipples between my thumb and forefinger.

She moaned. "No foreplay. Just hurry."

This girl was a dream come true. Too bad she wasn't my dream. I ripped off her pretty blue lace panties and slid my finger along her slit. Fuck, she was wet as hell. I got my pants off quickly after grabbing the condom and quickly covered my dick.

"You had a condom in your pocket?" She asked with a smile.

I nodded before turning her to face the nearest wall. "I knew I would be fucking you as soon as I walked in the door. I wanted to be prepared." I replied, my breath caressing her ear.

She shivered and nodded. "Yes please."

I chuckled as I kissed her shoulders up to her neck. I explored her body with my hands, my tongue teasing along her neck before I picked her up. "Hold on to the wall." I told her.

"Huh?" she asked, looking back at me. "How?"

"Just lean into it," I replied. I was plenty bigger than her, so I would have no problem holding her weight. She did as I asked and I positioned my engorged cock between her legs and thrust inside her from behind.

"Oh, God," she cried out as I stretched her open. She was still extremely tight and I was sure she would always be this damn tight. Fuck, I'm a lucky bastard.

I chuckled. "Just me, peanut." I teased as I moved until I was completely inside her.

She whimpered in response as I reached for her leg, pulling it back to open her more. I pulled out and thrust into her, again and again. Each movement rocked my world, knocking me for a loop. As her orgasm built, I bit at her neck. Letting go of her leg, I reached up and turned her head so that I could kiss her. I kissed long and hard, my cock deep inside her as I moved back and forth. Reaching between us, I flicked her clit and she immediately went off. My thrusts got stronger as her warm pussy tightened around me, squeezing me, my body slamming against hers. When I actually bit into her shoulder, she screamed my name as she came and I followed right behind her.

We both took several deep breaths as we slowly came down from our orgasmic high, my body still leaning against hers, my lips moved along her shoulder before resting against her neck.

"I bit you." I hissed through clenched teeth, looking at the bite on her neck.

"You did." She replied as if it was no big deal.

"Sorry." I said, laughter in my voice. I wasn't really sorry. In fact I was satisfied that I had bit her.

"It's fine, I promise. Easy to cover, I promise."

That made me frown for two reasons. I didn't want her covering it up. And that fucking bothered me.

* * *

**Thursday June 27, 2013**

That was an autograph signing from hell. A fan showed up and made a scene that passed all other scenes. He wasn't a fan of mine, but a fan of Brock Lesnar's. He came in, basically to make an ass out of himself, threatening me and telling me how absolutely stupid I was for getting tangled with him in the first place. This feud with Lesnar wasn't entirely fictional, but I went along with him anyway, trying to placate him into shutting the hell up. It didn't work. After a few minutes of shouting at me, a fan of mine interrupted and the fight was on. The police were called and two hours after the autograph signing was supposed to be over, I was finally allowed to leave.

I wasn't in a good mood and I knew exactly who could make my day a whole lot brighter. I entered my condo and hollered for Ashley. I knew she was here because I texted her and told her to be here waiting for me. As I heard her coming down the hall, I stripped out of my shirt and was working on my jeans when she came into view. She was wearing a pair of boy shorts and a camisole top in black with pink trim. Sexy as hell, but it had to go.

"Strip, Ashley." I ordered.

She blinked, but the camisole came off and she shimmied out of the boy shorts. My cock was standing at full attention and it didn't take but a minute to cover myself with a condom. I crooked my finger in a come here motion and she smiled wide and came to stand beside me without any hesitation. I trailed a single digit down between her breasts to her belly button to finally stand still at her mound.

"Are you wet, peanut?"

She swallowed and nodded.

"How wet are you Ashley?"

She licked her lips. "A lot. I need you, Phillip."

I shuddered and slipped a finger between her folds. I growled when I discovered how truly wet she was. I pulled my finger away and watched her closely as I sucked her juices off my finger. She blinked and her breathing hitched. Her nipples were hard and she was fucking sexy.

"Are you ready?"

She nodded.

I pulled her into my arms, lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck and those fingers went through my hair. I walked slowly towards my destination. "I know what I'm going to use that wine cabinet for now." I told her, my voice low, husky, and barely audible.

She licked her lips. "What?"

I dropped her down on it and she gasped. "To fuck you."

She inhaled sharply.

I cocked a smile as I grasped her thighs in my hands and spread her legs wide open. "You had better hold on, peanut. It's going to be a wild ride."

She grabbed the edges of the cabinet just as I thrust into her to the hilt. She screamed my name and her head fell back. I held her legs open as I continued to slam into her madly and wildly, her screams echoing throughout the condo. I wasn't able to do anything but throw my head back and continuing to thrust hard and fast. She came once screaming my name, but I didn't slow down. She came once more screaming my name and I followed her then. Her pussy was spasming around my dick and I couldn't hold off any longer. She was whimpering and moaning as she came for the third time. I thrust one last time before releasing her legs and pulling her to me.

"Did I hurt you?" I murmured in her ear.

She shook her head, unable to speak.

"Good, because I'm about to fuck you again, but this time I'm going to tie you up and take my time."

She whimpered.


	7. Tied Up & Fighting Back

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK TO KEEPER OF OZ, RANDYORTONRULES62, TAMMY, VKXXX92, HEERAH34, TANYA2BYOUR21, & VANESSA-TACO FOR YOUR FABULOUS REVIEWS! I JUST LOVED LOVED LOVED THEM!

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine! I am only playing!

Warning-1: Smut in the beginning!

Warning-2: Paul and Brock are not portrayed as good people in this story.. you are warned.. we're not there yet.. just letting ya know.. :-)

Author's Note: I will be leaving Wednesday to visit my family. I am taking my computer so I will work on my next chapter. Since I'll be there a month, I would go crazy without my writing, but updating will be hard. I promise I will though. I just want to give you all a heads-up!

NOW ... Enjoy! :-)

Chapter Seven  
Tied Up & Fighting Back

**Thursday June 27, 2013**

"You can never said anything about a blind fold, Phil." Ashley spoke, terror in her voice as the black scarf covered her eyes.

I caressed her cheek. "It is only to enhance your other senses, Peanut. I will not hurt you."

"I don't want to be blindfolded, Phil." She told me, her voice shaking.

I kissed the tip of her nose. "Do you trust me, Ashley?" I asked her softly.

She swallowed and nodded. "Yes."

I smiled. "Then trust me not to hurt you. Trust me to make this the most satisfying experience you'll ever have."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay." She agreed after a few moments of hesitation.

Smiling, I brushed a kiss across her forehead. "Thank you. I promise you will not regret it."

She gave me a small smile. "Are you going to gag me too?"

I snorted. "Hell no. I love when you scream my name as an orgasm is ripping through your sexy little body." I told her.

She blushed, her neck, shoulders, and chest turning a dusty rose. I chuckled softly and took in the sight before me. Completely bare, her arms were stretched above her head in a V-shape fashion. Her tanned skin was covered in red abrasions where I had kissed, nipped, and sucked on her. Her nipples were apple red from my sucking and hard as little pebbles. Her breathing was rapid and she couldn't stop licking her lips. A nervous habit, I was guessing. Her belly was flat with a small hint of a flare to her hips that spoke of her being a woman. Her ankles were tied also in a v-shape fashion, her small feet calling my name. I was eventually going to suck and lick on her toes. She was sexy as hell, but what surprised me most about her body was that she had a tan. Around the aureola was a small triangle shape of white skin. Lily white skin. She was also white around her panty line and her sex was just as pink as her nipples. She didn't seem the type to go to tanning salons and it was still too early in the season to be sun bathing.

"Where did you get your tan, babe?" I asked casually, still drinking her in.

She took a deep breath. "I just spent a few months in Nicaragua and a few weeks in Brazil."

That made me frown. "Those are some dangerous places, Peanut. What the hell were you doing down there?" I demanded to know.

Her body tensed at the tone of my voice. "Helping."

"Helping with what?"

She sighed. "It's really none of your business, Phil and I'm getting cold and impatient. If you would rather talk than have sex than untie me and let me up." She ordered me harshly.

I laughed. I couldn't help it. She was naked and tied to my bed, and she was ordering me around. Fuck, she was cute. She opened her mouth to say something but I claimed her mouth as I quickly settled myself over her. My kiss was greedy and she sighed and melted against me. My tongue played with hers as I stroked one hand down her body, teasing her nipples, sliding over her hip, slipping between her bound, spread legs and into her wet folds. She broke her mouth from mine, panting as my fingers slipped into her tender flesh, brushing over her swollen, sensitive clit.

She moaned my name and jerked at the scarves binding her arms. I grinned as my lips moved down over her breasts, my tongue stroking and gently biting at one nipple, and then the other. I slid one finger into her channel, and then another, stretching her, opening her.

"Fuck, Peanut. You're so damn tight. And wet too." I groaned against her nipple. I had taken her repeatedly over the last two days and she was still tight as a little fist. I was honestly surprised that I hadn't hurt her with my rough pounding into her delicate sex. Hurting her definitely wasn't my intention and I was grateful that I hadn't. In fact, she just informed me a few minutes ago that she was enjoying it. She had most certainly loved the way I took her on my very durable wine cabinet.

"Need you…" She whimpered. There was something about that word. I just didn't know what.

I chuckled huskily. "Patience, Peanut." I murmured as I trailed my tongue down her abdomen, flicking into her belly button, before I finally laved the lips of her pussy, making her cry out and shudder. My fingers sifted through the curls on her mound as my tongue slid along her slick folds, delving deeper and deeper as she released a series of whimpering, moaning noises. Her back arched, straining against the bindings as my mouth circled her needy clit, before finally latching onto the nub, clamping it lightly with my teeth. Her whimpering increased as I flicked her clit with my tongue. My hands slid under her ass, bringing her pussy tight against my mouth and the pressure on her clit increased and Ashley screamed my name as an orgasm ripped through her body. I licked the juices from her body as she slowly came down from euphoria. She shuddered, as my naked body came against hers as I slid up and over her. My mouth covered hers and she sighed into my kiss.

She eagerly returned my kiss as the head of my cock nudged against her tight opening. I pulled back with a curse and she whimpered. "I need a condom, babe. Give me just a minute." I told her, fishing a condom out of the nightstand, putting it on and settling myself over her once again as quickly as I could. Once again my cock nudged her open. My hips thrust forward and I instantly filled her. I wasn't huge, but I was in no means small and I just couldn't get over how utterly fucking tight she was. I stretched her, forcing her walls to expand and once again accept me. Her slick, wet flesh gave away as my dick lodged completely inside her.

I pulled back and entered her again, rubbing against her g-spot, driving her higher and higher as I increased my pace. My hips pistoned into her, one hand sliding under her ass to pull her up to meet me. Ashley grasped the scarves as she met every pump of my hips.

"Come for me, peanut. Let me feel that sweet pussy milk my cock." My low, seductive voice whispered as my cock filled her again and again. Faster and faster. She moaned and whimpered and pulled on her bindings. When my hand moved between our bodies and stroked her clit, she fucking exploded. She spasmed around my dick, milking me just as I wanted. But she went absolutely crazy as her orgasm ripped through her. She screamed my name over and over as her body bucked and arched underneath me. My mouth came down on hers as I entered her one last time, spilling myself deep inside her with a harsh groan.

* * *

**Saturday June 29, 2013**

"Why were you in Nicaragua and Brazil?" I asked as we sat down to eat our dinner, fresh from the shower.

She pursued her cupid's bow mouth, pizza slice paused half way to her mouth. I have spent the last two days exploring Ashley's body in every room of my place and hers. I kept her fed and watered to keep her energy up because I couldn't get enough of her. She had an appetite to match my own and I was seriously enjoying it. Now it was late Saturday evening and we were just sitting down to a late dinner. Chicago style pizza once again, cheese only. Ashley had told them light on the sauce and it was pretty damn good. I had been meaning to ask her about her trip to South America but I hadn't the chance. Or I had been too damned busy. So bite me.

"I told you." She replied taking a bite of her pizza.

I shook my head, chewing slowly. "You said helping and then shortly after you had an orgasm screaming my name." I teased.

She blushed bright red and I laughed. "Just donating my time; teaching children to read and write and passing out children's books." She replied, trying to sound casual.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Your books?"

She shook her head.

I frowned. "Why not?"

She shrugged, nibbling at her pizza. "I didn't think about it."

I didn't like her answer, but I left it alone and changed the subject. To her tan lines… "When were you able to get a tan?"

"What? I just told you."

I shook my head, dropping my slice of pizza on my plate, forgotten and unwanted at the moment. "Your tan lines consist of small triangles over your nipples and a barely there scrap of fabric covering your pussy and ass. Did you wear that bikini in front of other people? All the time? And were you harassed while wearing it?"

She blushed red again and shook her head. "I didn't wear it all the time. Just when I went to the beach and no I didn't get harassed because I had a body guard." She replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"A bodyguard?" I questioned and she nodded. "What the hell was the bodyguard for, Peanut? Were you in any danger?"

She shook her head. "No, I wasn't in any danger, Phil, but I was in a strange country without a male companion so I had a bodyguard."

I frowned at her tone. She was uncomfortable with this conversation and her words were forced. I wanted to know why but I knew if I pressed for an answer, she would shut down. She always did when I turned the conversation towards her and anything to do with her past or just her in general. She definitely didn't like talking about herself. So instead of pressing for a more adequate answer, I nodded and went back to eating my pizza. We ate in silence, munching on the thick style pie and drinking water from plastic bottles.

She ate with gusto, but she was careful not to get any on her too. Wearing only a Punk t-shirt, black lace boy shorts –stupid name for those, but way hotter than thongs– with her toenails still white with tiny blue stars, she was adorable, but sexy too. This week had been a blast but I was wondering if maybe I should end it before she got attached. I didn't want to live across the hall from her if I accidentally broke her heart. Right now she didn't seem too attached to me so maybe now was better than later.

She sucked her finger in her mouth, sucking the marinara sauce that dripped down her index finger. I inhaled sharply and swallowed back a groan. I'll end it next week, I thought as I dropped what was left of my slice of pizza and dropped to my knees in front of Ashley. She stopped mid-suck, her eyes widening as she watched me. I lifted up one dainty foot, tracing the star designs with the tip of my finger before kissing the sole of her right foot. She giggled softly as I placed another kiss, this one closer to her toes.

"Ticklish?" I asked playfully, giving her big toe a nip.

She gasped and nodded, a shiver shaking her small form. "A little." She replied, wiggling her toes.

I wrapped my tongue around her pinkie toe and she bucked on the chair and whimpered. Who knew a woman's foot was erogenous zone. I've never even considered it before, but Ashley's feet were so damned small and sexy. Not to mention how they were always decorated in color. I bit the tip of pinkie toe before sucking it into my mouth. She moaned loudly, threading her fingers through my hair. I moved from one toe to the other until I reached her big toe which was about the size of my pinkie toe. She was small all over.

"You have the sexiest feet I've ever seen on a woman, Peanut." I told her, licking the sole of her foot.

She whimpered, her breathing coming in pants and her face red with arousal. "I think you just have a foot fetish." She moaned.

I nipped her ankle. "I think I have an Ashley fetish." I replied, kissing my way up her slim calf. Her fingers tightened in my hair as I slid a free hand up her other leg to slip inside her black panties, teasing the flesh.

"I think you're crazy, Phillip." She said breathlessly, her head thrown back and shaking vigorously. She was so very close to an orgasm but I wanted to play, I wanted to tease.

Someone started knocking on my fucking front door and I wanted to roar in rage. What the fuck? Who the hell was that? And did they know they just pissed me off in the worst possible way?

Ashley whimpered when I got to my feet. She looked thoroughly fucked and I hoped it wasn't Paul Heyman at my front door. I planted a hard kiss on Ashley's mouth and went to answer my door. My luck was shit seeing how Heyman was standing on the other side, looking pinched.

"Paul, what's up?" I asked knowing he was going to want to come in and I knew as soon as saw Ashley, he wasn't going to be happy.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" He questioned sarcastically.

I wonder what he would say if I told him no?

Instead I stepped back and gave him entrance and he immediately came face to face with Ashley, wearing only my t-shirt. Fuckin' A! I could tell Heyman wasn't happy with the fact that was Ashley was in my condo and if the way he was looking her up and down and clenching his jaw, he wasn't too happy about her attire either. I didn't give a shit. I was enjoying her t-shirt wearing, black lace boy short clad sexy body. Heyman could go fuck himself.

"If you'll excuse us, Miss…" Paul's whiny voice trailed off.

Ashley smiled, having no idea that Paul hated her so much he had threatened her. Several times over. "It's Ashley, Mr. Heyman, but no worries, I'll just go home." She stated before giving me a little finger wave and walking out the door. I waited until she was safely in her own apartment before I slammed my front door shut. Paul jumped at the sudden noise and turned to give me a dirty look.

"She's going to ruin you." Paul said each word slow and steady, like I was too stupid to understand what the hell he meant.

However, I wasn't stupid. "Ruin me for all other women, maybe."

Paul's jaw twitched and his fists clenched. "She's spread her legs for a lot of men so she's good at what she does." He commented hatefully.

I shoved him against the wall and got in his face. "Don't." I spat. "If you know what's good for you, you won't ever say anything like that again. Am I clear?" This time it was I who spoke each word slowly, steady. I wanted to make damned sure he understood me.

He gulped; probably fear or vomit or ... something and nodded. I stepped back, giving him room to move. He grabbed the door knob to the front door and shook his finger at me.

"I've had enough of this, Punk. I'm only trying to look after you. After all, I love you like you were my own. That …that… that… girl," he said girl like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "She's going to ruin everything I've…" he cleared his throat. "Everything you've worked for and if you don't get rid of her, I will."

I took a slow menacing step toward him. "Run that by me again." I dared him through clench teeth.

He tried to step back but the wall prevented that. He looked scared, which was good because I was pissed. "She's not good for you, Punk. Surely you can see that?" He asked, his voice going all high pitched.

I shook my head. "What the hell do you have against her? I've fucked a lot of women, Paul, but she's the first you seem to hate on sight. Is it because she isn't a Heyman fan?"

He took a deep breath and swallowed hard. "I don't care about that or any other woman you've had sex with. She's different because she's here all the time. You've become obsessed with her and I will not let her ruin everything I've… we've… you've worked for. I won't!" By the time he was finished, he was screaming at me. He was out the door before I could reply which was probably a good thing because if he had stayed a minute longer, I would have broken his fucking neck.

I headed for my weight room and straight for my punching bag. I didn't bother taping up my hands. I needed the pain it would bring. It didn't take long either before my hands were bloody and screaming in protest. Only when I finally felt the screaming pain, did I focus on what Paul had said. I wasn't obsessed with her. I just wanted her and I was working her out of my system in the only way I knew how. I wouldn't let her ruin all I had worked for and for Paul to even think that was inconceivable. She was a quick lay; a fucking good one, but a lay nonetheless. She wasn't changing me. No one or nothing was changing me. I was evolving. That was all.

When the blood began to trickle down my arms, I finally stopped and collapsed back onto the floor. My head was fully clear, but I knew what I had to do. Not for me, but for her.

* * *

**Saturday July 6, 2013**

I sighed heavily. Of course she would have to be wearing… that! How was I supposed to end this when she looked like… THAT! She was wearing a long sleeve white t-shirt that looked almost knit like but it wasn't. Although I wasn't sure I would call it a t-shirt either or hell, clothing for that matter. It fell casually off both her creamy shoulders and came about two inches below her breasts. And fucking hell, the shorts were a pinkish color and short as hell. She wasn't wearing enough clothing at all. Her creamy shoulders, her flat tummy, the smooth skin of her back, and those tanned legs were all on display for anyone; any man to see. She was barefoot since she was home and her toenails were painted a pink to match her shorts.

It was damn good thing she wasn't my woman, because I would haven't let her out of the house like that at all. In fact the idea of spanking her heart shaped sexy ass was hot as hell and turning me on. My stubborn dick agreed with me on that one.

She gave me an award winning smile and invited me in. "Hey Phil! I've got great news!" She was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet and her face was flushed with excitement.

I gave her a small grin. "What's that, Peanut?" I asked as a dull ache settled in the center of my chest. I didn't know what it meant but I wasn't dwelling on it either. I just ignored it.

"I'm going to Kenya!" She shouted, vibrating with enthusiasm.

My eyes widened and I felt the air leave my lungs in a whoosh. "Kenya like in Africa?" I asked dumbfounded.

She nodded eagerly. "YES!" She squealed.

I took a deep breath and told myself that this was a good thing. Separation was what we both needed. Especially after this conversation.

"When do you leave?"

"We worked out all the details just this morning. I leave July seventeenth so I'll be able to watch Money In The Bank." She told me happily.

I nodded stupidly. "How long have you known you were going to Africa?"

"I found out Monday afternoon, but nothing was finalized until today." She replied still smiling.

Not that it really mattered when she found out or when it was finalized, she was her own woman. We spent Saturday evening and all day Sunday having sex. I lost myself in her because I knew I was going to have to do and soon. I left Monday on a flight to Sioux City, Iowa and I didn't return to Chicago until Wednesday afternoon and I wasn't able to keep my hands to myself so I fucked her all over my condo and hers until Friday morning when I had to leave for an autograph signing in New York. I told her that we needed to talk when I got back and she nodded quietly and told me she knew that. So I waited until today to come home. It was late Saturday afternoon and I didn't want to do this, but I needed to protect her from Heyman.

"I can't do this anymore, Ashley." I blurted out without thinking. I hadn't meant to start it quite like that.

Her smile disappeared in a heartbeat and she nodded. "Okay."

I blinked. "What?"

Her mouth twitched. "I said okay. I knew what this was, Phil. It was sex. We were friends with benefits and I agreed to that. I'm not going to throw a fit because you've gotten tired of me. You're a man with needs and I understand."

I opened my mouth, but since I didn't know what I was going to say, I shut it. She was taking this a lot better than I thought was going to and that bothered the fuck out of me. In fact, it bothered me so much I opened my mouth and spoke once more without thinking.

"It's completely over between the two of us, Ashley. We'll be neighbors and that's it."

She flinched and hurt clouded her vision. "You mean, we can't even be friends anymore."

I swallowed down the vile in my throat. "Not even friends, Ashley. It's for your own damn good. You don't need to get attached to me."

She licked her lips and nodded. "Leave." She said it so softly I wasn't sure I heard her correctly.

"What?"

She took a deep breath. "I want you … to leave." She said it so forcefully that I knew she was close to tears. Okay, so the wetness in her eyes gave that away too.

"Ashley, I'm sorry. It has to be this way."

She turned her back on me, dismissing me and my apology. I left feeling dejected and pissed, but I did it for her own damn safety.

* * *

**Tuesday July 9****th****, 2013**

These last three and a half days have been complete hell for me. I hadn't seen Ashley since leaving her place Saturday evening. Hell, I haven't even heard her in her apartment. I hadn't heard her leave or anything. She was there, but she was deadly quiet. I hated it and I hated that I hurt her, but I didn't have a choice. I told Paul Monday, upon arriving at Raw. He was happy that I ended it, the bastard gave me a hug. Now I was off until Sunday. Almost five days of spending time with myself. Yeah, that sounded like a lot of fun.

"We're here, Mr. Brooks." My driver, Sam announced. I nodded, standing up and gasped in shock at all the police cars surrounding my building.

"What the fuck?" I hissed. This was supposed to be a quiet neighborhood and a quiet building so what the hell was going on.

I stepped off the bus and was stopped almost instantly by a cop. "You can't go in there, Sir, I'm sorry."

I nodded my understanding but I wasn't happy. "I live here."

He frowned but I could tell he was intrigued. "What floor do you live on?" He questioned, motioning for another officer, this one a detective by his clothes.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I live on floor forty-nine." I answered.

A hint of empathy flared up in his eyes. "Do you know Ashley Flowers?" He questioned just as the other detective reached us.

I felt numb. There was no fucking way. "Yeah." I stuttered.

The detective frowned and motioned towards my bus. "Maybe we should continue this conversation somewhere a little quieter." He offered.

Again I nodded. "Is Ashley okay?" I asked, fighting back emotions that I wasn't use to feeling.

I looked at the detective's face and instantly I knew Ashley was anything but okay.

* * *

_**Don't Hate Me! Please!** _


	8. Change & Need

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO KEEPER OF OZ, TAMMY, KEPOUROS, RANDYORTONRULES62, WADES WIFE, & ANGELVANGUARD FOR YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS! LOVED THEM!

Author's Note: This is truly a rough draft.. I'm leaving tomorrow and I wanted you guys to have a chapter before I left. I couldn't leave you hanging ... if you notice anything totally off... please be kind and let me know!

Enjoy!

Chapter Eight  
Change & Need

**Tuesday July 9, 2013**

Raped and brutally beaten. Raped and brutally beaten. Detective Thomas Hicks' words continued to run through my mind over and over like it was a record player on repeat. Of course Hicks said they couldn't confirm or deny the fact that she had been raped, but she definitely had been brutally beaten. But they didn't know by whom. A guard named Peter Perkins had also been hurt. The neighbor below Ashley had heard Ashley screaming and called the front desk sending Perkins to Ashley's apartment. So whoever decided to use Ashley as a let out for their anger had been interrupted by Perkins. The unidentified man had punched Perkins and knocked him clean out and then fled the scene. And of course the cameras caught nothing. Hicks had told me that the assailant was wearing a black ski mask.

I asked if Perkins was okay and he was, but Ashley was fighting for her life at the local hospital. So that's where I was headed. She had been taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital; the number one hospital in the state of Illinois. That however gave me very little relief. Ashley was fighting for life and there wasn't anything anyone could do and that included myself.

I made my way towards the emergency department and asked for information on Ashley Flowers.

"Are you family?" The young nurse asked me blankly.

I shook my head regretfully, but I had no intention of giving up. I needed to know something. I didn't care what they told me as long as they told me something.

"Phillip Brooks?"

I turned around at the sound of my name and looked up. Standing behind me was a very tall dark haired man with more muscles than Triple H. I didn't have a clue who he was, but since he knew my name, I was guessing he was a fan. Unfortunately I didn't have time for fans or the patience for them either. I was already fighting to keep my emotions under control and I was slowly losing that fight.

"What?" I barked.

The tall man didn't even flinch at my harsh tone. He gave me a half smile which looked force and motioned towards the waiting room. "I'm Terry, Ashley's friend. Come sit down with me."

This was Ashley's friend, Terry. He looked more like a mercenary than a friend, but I guess even mercenaries had friends. I shook my head. "I need to find out something about Ashley and her condition."

Terry nodded. "I'm Ashley's power of attorney so I can tell you pretty much everything and I'll be the one they look for when she comes out of surgery."

I didn't know how to respond to that so I just followed him to the waiting room and sat down in a light colored cushioned chair. I looked over at Terry as he sat down across from me. He gave me another smile but again it looked forced.

"Ashley's told me a lot about you." He replied.

"What's going on? Is she going to be okay?"

Terry took a deep breath. "I'm not going to lie, it doesn't look good right now."

I scowled. "Then how come you look happy."

"I'm anything but happy, Mr. Brooks. My best friend is fighting for her life after being brutally beaten and almost raped –."

"She wasn't raped!?" I interrupted in a hurry.

Terry shook his head. "She came quite close. Detective Hicks told me that she was discovered pretty close to naked with her shirt torn and her pants around her ankles, but the doctors did tell me that he was unsuccessful in that attempt."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Why is she in surgery?"

"The asshole broke five of her ribs and punctured both of her lungs. Her spleen also was ruptured and there was extensive damage to her kidneys and liver. They're trying to repair the damage."

"Holy fuck." I saw the black dots in front of my eyes and blinked them away.

"Yeah, and she's also got a skull fracture and swelling. They have to drain blood and fluid off her brain."

I was losing the battle of remaining in control. I was losing it fast. "Anything else?" I hissed through clenched teeth.

"The fingers on her left hand are broken; her right arm is broken in two different places. Her pelvis is fractured and her right leg is broken in three separate places."

All I could see was red. Who the hell did this to someone so small and harmless? She was such a sweetheart; the perfect girl next door. Who could do this?

I felt a hand on my arm and looked up at Terry. "Don't lose yourself to the anger, Mr. Brooks. I know it isn't easy to control the rage you have to be feeling, but Ashley wouldn't want that."

I gave him a look that told him I thought he was nuts. "Then what would she want?" I asked.

He gave me another smile. "She hasn't told you anything about her, has she?"

I shook my head.

Terry gave me yet another smile, but this one was different. This one was intriguing. Don't tell anyone I said that because I will deny it.

"Have you ever heard of the Flowers name?"

I gave another shake of my head.

"Ashley's great grandfather was Cornelius Flowers."

I gawked. "The famous oil tycoon?" I was doubtful, but Terry laughed and nodded.

"That's the one. He came across an oil gold mine in his back yard and became one of the most powerful and richest men in Texas."

"So Ashley is what? A trust fund kid?"

Terry laughed. "That's putting mildly. Ashley probably has more money than every single person in this hospital combined." He sat back in his chair, resting his hands on the arm rests. "See, Ashley's grandfather doted on Ashley because she was the first girl born in the family in like sixty or seventy decades or something like that, but also because well… I think he felt a little guilty. Her grandfather, Walter Flowers married a woman named Cora who then gave birth to a boy named Edward. Walter wanted and was sure that Edward would follow in his footsteps as Walter followed in his father's footsteps and got involved in the family business."

I couldn't believe I was listening to this as Ashley was in surgery but I knew that wasn't anything I could until Ashley was out of surgery. So I didn't say a word as Terry talked and I listened. And I learned.

"But old Ed was nothing like his daddy or granddaddy for that matter. Edward was into drugs. Any and all drugs; anything he could get his hands on. He was known for liking cocaine and heroin; those were his favorites. In his early twenties he met a woman named Tiffany. I really think her name was Emma or something but she went by Tiffany."

"Her mom was an alcoholic." I commented.

Terry nodded. "She was a heavy alcoholic who did drugs on the side. And she was a bitch."

I nodded in reply. "How do you know all this?" I questioned suspiciously.

Terry smiled again and he practically shined.

Did I just say that?

"I've been Ashley's best friend since we were in diapers. My family lived next to Ashley's grandfather, Walter. My father, Charles and Walter were the best of friends so Ashley and me kind of just got thrown together a lot. I'm three years older than her so when she first came around, she was a pain in my ass. She never cried and she always smelled good, but she took attention away from me and I was jealous. I soon grew out of that."

"You two are only friends?" I found that hard to believe.

Terry nodded. "We're too much like brother and sister for there to be anything else." He replied easily.

I motioned for him to continue. I wanted to know more.

"Walter knew that his son and daughter-in-law used their allowance to buy drugs and alcohol but he never thought Ashley would come to any harm. Especially since Edward and Tiff knew that Walter was crazy over his granddaughter."

I licked my lips. "But something did happen, didn't it?" I guessed.

He nodded solemnly. "When Ashley was thirteen, her parents had a lot of friends over which wasn't anything new. They always had friends over, but that particular day a friend crossed the boundaries. Ashley was asleep in her bed upstairs when he stumbled into her room. He was drunk and high as hell on who knows what. He raped her in her own bed when she was thirteen years old. She was a baby. He knew her well and probably planned all of it."

My chest ached, but my blood was boiling with rage. What man could rape an innocent thirteen year old?

"Planned it?" I asked quietly.

Terry nodded. "She came to me the next morning and threw herself in my arms and cried. When I finally got her settled down she told what this man did and how he threatened her. He told her that if she screamed or alerted anyone he would kill me. He told her if she told anyone after the fact, he would kill me."

Son of a bitch! "So he knew her well enough to know that she didn't care about her parents, but you on the other hand were her best friend and she would have done anything for you." I stated firmly.

Terry nodded. "She would have done anything for me and for that she paid a price of innocence that night."

"What did you do?"

"I told my father who told her grandfather. The man was arrested and convicted and was later found sodomize and beaten to death in his cell. Walter immediately got custody and banished her parents from her life. They aren't even allowed to contact her and if they ever do they are to be instantly arrested."

"And her grandfather now?"

A whisper of sadness passed over Terry's face and he shook his head. "He dead a few years ago, old age. But he made Ashley a very wealthy little girl."

Fuck, the girl next door was loaded. "And she still writes." I stated in disbelief.

Terry nodded. "She loves those books of hers. She started writing them right after she was raped, but she didn't start publishing them until later. They helped her heal in the best possible way."

"Those books are really good."

Terry chuckled. "You like Sammy the rabbit, huh?"

I nodded. "You don't?"

This time he out right laughed and the nurses looked our way. "I've got a signed copy of each one on my bookshelf, plus another copy put away for when I have children. I'm definitely a fan of Sammy and I hope any future children I have feel the same way."

"So she doesn't touch her trust fund?" I asked curious as hell.

Terry snorted. "Oh she touches it. She loves helping others and giving to others."

"Charity?"

Terry nodded in agreement.

"I remember when I first met her, she was cooking for some kind of bake off thing or something."

Terry laughed again. "She's founded most of the charities she works for."

"Really?" Fucking hell, I misjudged her.

Terry nodded. "She founded Baking for the Hungry and it's one of her favorites. Once a month, everyone involved bakes everything they can and then they have a bake sale and all the proceeds go towards can goods and such for needy families in Chicago. Of course during holidays they do a lot more because they're more families that go hungry during the holidays."

"Do her charities take her to other countries?" I asked.

He nodded. "They do and in fact she just told me that she was going to Kenya for a month."

"What does she do while there?"

"She teaches anyone who wants to learn."

"What does she teach them?"

"The basics; English, writing, math, and history I guess. I don't know exactly. She got her teaching credentials a few years ago and wanted to put it to use."

My mouth dropped open in surprise. "Is there anything she doesn't do?"

Terry chuckled. "She likes to keep busy." He replied.

"Why does she need a bodyguard?"

"Her last name is Flowers and she's rich. Here in Chicago, she doesn't really have a lot of problems because she isn't that well-known, but in other countries, she is. They know she gives not only her time, but her money to help others over there."

"Has there ever been an attempt to kidnap her or something?"

He nodded. "There was about two years ago. A drug lord found himself in some trouble and he needed money. He knew the Flowers name because he used to live in Texas so he attempted and failed to kidnap Ashley."

I really didn't know what to think of all this new information I had on Ashley. She was rich four feet up a bull's ass, but she still worked as a children's author. She spent her trust fund money always on other people, helping others in need. She had been raped at thirteen by a drug addict alcoholic. Her parents were worse losers than mine own, but yet… she was still the happiest person I had ever met. So damn happy that sometimes she only managed to piss me off. How can anyone be that damn happy with so many demons clouding their past?

And where did Terry stand in all this? Was he really only a friend? If so, why was he living with her? Was he the mooch and she was paying all the bills. And where the hell did I fit in in all of this?

"You have a lot more questions, don't you?" Terry interrupted my though rambling.

I nodded. "I do, although I don't want to."

Terry chuckled. "Go ahead and ask. I'm an open book which is weird because Ashley use to be the open book and now she's the closed off one."

"Why do you two live together?"

I hadn't meant to ask that question, but my mouth didn't agree with my brain.

"Ashley wanted to move out of her grandfather's home, but she was scared of being a single female living on her own. I lived in a small apartment with two other Seals and we were never home. She asked me if I would move in with her when she found a place. I didn't see any reason on why not so I agreed. For the first few months I tried paying the bills, but my money was always returned. She told me she could afford it and that she wasn't changing her mind. The condo is in my name for security reasons, but everyone there knows that she pays all the bills and they all love her."

"You're a Seal?"

He nodded. "I am. I have been since I turned eighteen. Well, I enlisted when I was eighteen. I worked my ass off to become a Seal. Ashley didn't see any reason for me to pay anything while I was barely home. I hate it, but she won't budge, I've tried."

Leaning back in my chair, I felt at lost for words. Everything I had ever thought about Ashley was completely and utterly wrong. I was so wrong; I wasn't even on the same planet. Ashley was caring, loving, and so damn giving that she could have looked like a pushover or a door mat or hell, a damn kiss up, but she didn't. She really was this sweet woman who loved taking care of others and helping others. And she was in there fighting for her fucking life! I wanted to scream at the fucking world at how wrong this was. She didn't deserve to be in there.

What the hell did she see in me? I suddenly thought and suddenly worried. She couldn't want money. Hell, she had more than I did. So what in the hell did I do to deserve her in my life?

"You're her first, you know?"

My head popped up to meet Terry's eyes and I frowned. "What?"

"She's never been with anyone but you."

"How do you know?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "Because she tells me everything. The day she met you, she emailed me. I called her a week later when I finally could and heard so much about you. When she threw a pie in your face, I heard about that too. She tells me everything, Mr. Brooks."

"Phil or Punk."

Terry chuckled. "She can't call you Punk." He said with a grin.

"Why not?" I had always wondered.

"She said it stood for a worthless person and she said you were anything but worthless."

I shook my head. "She doesn't know me so how could she say that?"

"You're the first person besides me and her grandfather and James that she doesn't flinch from. She doesn't like others touching her. Hell, she doesn't like others even anywhere near her. When people get too close, she panics. As long as they keep their distance she's okay. She told me that when she touched you, she gets a bolt of electricity through her fingers. She told me when she kissed you, it felt like heaven and she swore she heard fireworks."

I inhaled sharply. I didn't –really didn't know what to say to that. I couldn't tell this man that I felt the same when I touched her or heard the same when I kissed her. And the sex was out of this fucking world. If there was a heaven, sex with Ashley would be fucking heaven. And she felt the same. What the hell did that mean? Did I even want to know?

"So anyway… she told me that anyone who could make her believe in touch and love cannot be called Punk because he is anything but worthless."

"She's amazing person, Terry, but I don't do marriage or babies and I definitely don't believe in love."

Terry smiled. "You'll change your mind. I'm almost sure of it."

I shook my head in denial. I didn't want to get mad or upset at this man. He was my only link to Peanut, but I wasn't listening to his ideas of change. Fuck that. So I changed the subject.

"Do you know why she doesn't like being called a good girl?"

Terry looked pained but he nodded. "I do."

I figured as much. "Why?"

"The night she was raped, he called his good girl. Told her she was a good girl for listening and doing as she was told."

I flinched, but nodded. I shouldn't have asked. Fucking hell, what else was I going to learn?

Suddenly, Terry got to his feet. I looked up and the doctor was there, heading towards us. I got to my feet and followed Terry. We took care of the formalities and Doctor Jensen told us the news.

"She's strong and that's going to help a lot in her healing process. She's lost a lot of blood and we gave her several pints in a transfusion. We fixed the internal bleeding and set her bones and put her in casts. She'll heal with no side effects from her injuries but it's going to be a long long road for her."

Terry nodded. "When can we see her?"

"Is it just the two of you?" Jensen asked.

Terry nodded. "We're the only two authorized, yes."

The doctor nodded. "She's in ICU. We'll make a note in her chart and notified all hospital staff about the visitor policy. You two can see her in the morning, but I must warn you, she's in a medically induced coma."

"Why?" Both Terry and myself asked at the same time.

"The pain she is in right now would only hinder the healing process. So we put her in a coma to help her with her most difficult injuries."

"For how long?"

The doctor shrugged. "I cannot be sure of that. The minimum would be two weeks."

I stepped away from the doctor and Terry as the said good bye. I couldn't hear anymore. I couldn't take any more. I needed air. I needed… I needed… Needed…

Fuck! I needed to vent out my frustration and there was only one way to do that. I told Terry good bye and headed towards the nearest gym. If I didn't hit something soon, I was going to explode.

In a fucking coma… I was at our building.

Almost raped… I was in the gym.

Brutally beaten… I didn't bother taping my hands.

Fighting for her life… I welcomed the pain.

A lot of pain… I welcomed the blood.

Brutally beaten… punch, punch.

Electricity… pain and blood.

Fireworks… punch, punch.

Brutally beaten… more pain and more blood.

Change… need… change… need… coma… beaten… change… beaten… need…

I staggered on my feet and blacked out.


	9. Hidden Messages & Alibis

Author's Note: First and foremost: I AM SO SO SO SORRY! I went to visit my family (they live about 1000 miles away) and I was gone for a little over a month. Since returning to my home & to my hubby, I have found it difficult to concentrate on writing. So much going on & to catch up on. This chapter isn't as long as my others, but that's because the second half wasn't planned. My original chapter nine is a lot of research and will take a few more days to do that research. I really wanted to get a chapter out for my wonderful readers. I'm not sure when chapter 10 will be out. But thank you for sticking with me.

**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU TO: RANDYORTONRULES62, KEEPER OF OZ, ANGEL VANGUARD, HEERAH34, BLACKWIDOW101, GUEST, TANYA2BYOUR21, TAMMY, & ANGELSDEE327 FOR YOUR FABULOUS & WONDERFUL REVIEWS! THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE THAT CONTINUE TO FOLLOW AND ADD ME TO THEIR FAVORITE LISTS. YOU GUYS ARE TRULY AWESOME!  
**

Warning: Paul Heyman & Brock Lensar... No offense Guys(well.. maybe a little) but you two do not fair well in this story. So do not read if you are offended!

Disclaimer: WWE and it's superstars are NOT mine. I am only playing.

Chapter Nine  
Hidden Messages & Alibis

**Tuesday July 9, 2013**

"_I didn't listen." _

_I opened my eyes to find myself staring into Ashley's beautiful chocolate brown eyes. She seemed perfect; no bruises or cuts and she was standing on her own. The way Terry had described all of Ashley's injuries, I could only draw one conclusion. I was dreaming and for now, I didn't want to wake Ashley wasn't hurt and she wasn't in pain.  
_

"_What?"__ I questioned in confusion as I slowly made my way to my feet. I was wearing the same thing I had on when I entered my building's gym; a pair of faded blue jeans and a worn out t-shirt. Ashley was wearing one of my t-shirts. A favorite of mine__,__ in fact. I was sure of what to think of that particular little tidbit, but I pushed it to the back of my mind and focused on Ashley and what she was saying instead of her lack of clothing. _

_She cocked her head and her frown deepened. "I didn't listen to you. You warned me and I didn't listen." _

_My eyebrows furrowed in more confusion and I shook my head. "I don't know what you mean. What did I warn you about, Peanut?" I asked softly. _

_She chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head. _

"_Ashley, please tell me. What did I warn you about?" I asked again this time with a little more force. _

_She took a deep breath and turned towards the only window in the room. It was then I realized I didn't recognize the room personally, but I knew immediately where we were. We were in a hospital room. The walls were painted a light lemony yellow with wallpaper strips that looked like paint splatter. The room was bright and cheery, but the mood was anything but. This room should have matched Ashley's happy personality to a T, but instead it only made me more depressed. I glanced around the room, taking in all my surroundings. The bed was a typical hospital bed with white pillows, white sheets and thick white blankets. There was a dark blue reclining looking chair beside the bed and a more uncomfortable looking chair across the room. That chair matched the wallpaper and I found that odd. There was an IV stand and lots more equipment that I hadn't a clue what it was for. But if all this was in Ashley's room, I knew instantly that she was in for the fight of her life. _

"_You met Terry." Ashley's soft voice broke the silence and pulled my attention back to her. __She didn't state it as a question, but I still nodded. And although she couldn't see me and I couldn't see her, I knew she wasn't smiling. Dream Ashley never smiled. _

"_I did." _

"_He talks a lot." She replied. _

"_Does he?" I said nonchalantly._

_She looked over her shoulder at me. A look that said I wasn't fooling her. She knew better. _

"_Was it true?" I asked, already knowing the answer. _

_She turned back to the window and nodded. __"Sadly, all of it was true. My childhood was messed up."_

"_I know the feeling." I replied. _

"_Now you can understand why I don't pity you." _

_I took a step closer to her; to the window. "You can't pity me because it would be like pitying yourself." _

_She nodded. _

"_There's only one small problem with that." _

_She tensed in front of me. "What is that?"_

"_Your childhood was a lot worse than mine, Peanut. I moved in with my best friend and was pretty much adopted by her family." _

_She sighed. "After…" She took a deep breath. "I moved in with my Grandfather after I was raped." _

"_That was after. It never should have happened, babe. You should have never have been there at all." _

_She snorted. "Then where should I have been, Phil?"_

_I stepped closer, licked my lips, took a deep breath, and reached out. "Your Grandfather should have took you out of that home. He knew what your parents were doing. He knew what they were. You shouldn't have been there." _

_She shook her head. "You don't know what you're talking about." She snapped at me. _

_I clasped her shoulder and spun her around to look at me. "I know exactly what I'm talking about. You blame yourself for what –"_

_Her eyes flashed with anger as she interrupted me. "I was thirteen, Phil, but I was not an idiot. I was a child. It wasn't my fault –"_

_I interrupted her. "Not then. Now. You blame yourself for what just happened in your apartment."_

_She jerked away from me. "You warned me, Phil. You warned me and I ignored that warning. It was my fault." She was practically yelling at me. "It was all my fault because you warned me and I didn't listen. Now I'm going to die because I –"_

"_NO!" I screamed at her. "No! No!" _

"Punk, wake up. Punk, you need to wake up." I heard the deep voice as I started to shake. No, I wasn't shaking, I was being shook.

My eyes flew open and Colt's face was directly in front of mine. I pushed him away at the same time he backed off and helped me sit up. I looked around and realized I was back in my place; in my living room.

"How the hell did I get up here?" I asked.

"I carried you up here and let me tell you, you are no damned light weight."

"I don't understand. I was in the gym…"

Colt nodded. "The manager called me after you blacked out. Apparently I'm numero uno on your emergency contact list. I came right away. They were getting ready to call an ambulance."

"Why didn't they?" I asked although I wasn't complaining. Having an ambulance called would be unwanted publicity for WWE and for me as well.

"I told them not to and that I was on my way to make sure you were okay."

I nodded. "Thanks." I told him softly. My mind was still on the dream and its meaning because I knew it had a hidden message somewhere in there. I had a slight headache but other than that I felt fine. Oh I was pissed but physically I felt fine.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Colt asked.

"You remember Ashley?" I met his eyes as he slowly nodded.

"You mean the sweet little thing next door?"

I didn't like his wording but nodded in reply.

"What about her?" He asked as if getting impatient, but his facial expression showed patience and worry.

"She was brutally beaten and almost raped earlier today."

His mouth dropped open and his eyes went blank. He just stared at me for a few minutes before his eyes went from blank to full with rage in a matter of seconds. He stood up and began pacing throughout the house. To the kitchen, through the living room, down the hall and back again. The whole time he was muttering to himself. I made out a few words here and there; fuck, shit, damn, fuck, asshole, and the word fuck was muttered a lot. Once he calmed (kind of) down, he flopped down on the corner of the sofa and I sat down on the opposite side and told him everything Terry had told me.

"Is she going to live through this?" He asked once I finished. I wasn't for sure but I seriously hoped she did.

"I don't know, but I'm staying positive and you should too."

He nodded, staring off into space. "Who would do this?" He questioned, more to himself than to me.

I shrugged. "I don't know that either, but I have an idea."

"Who?" He was staring at me so intently that I almost shuddered under his gaze.

"I honestly think Paul Heyman had something to do with this."

His eyes widened in surprise and his mouth dropped open in shock. "You can't be serious, Punk."

I nodded solemnly. "I'm very damn serious, Colt. Just some of the things he has said to me made me think that he could be behind this."

Colt shook his head. "Things like what?"

I let out a sigh. "Just a week ago, he told me either I get rid of her or he would."

Colt ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah… But… beating her and almost raping her is going a little extreme, isn't it?"

I shrugged. "I wouldn't have thought Paul couldn't have said some of things he has, but just the look in his eyes, Colt. And the tone of his voice…" I took another deep breath. "The tone of his voice was so damned malicious. I wouldn't… No, I can't put it past him, Colt. Not with Ashley."

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" He asked.

I wasn't sure if I could answer that because I really didn't know the answer.

* * *

**Money In The Bank – July 14, 2013**

I would rather be anywhere than here, but I've wanted this opportunity for so long that I just couldn't pass it up. Ashley is still in a coma and so far she isn't responsive to anybody, but the doctors knew she wouldn't be. Terry and Colt both assured me that I wouldn't miss anything if I went and besides, I couldn't break contract. After my black out, I did see the company doctor and he too said I was just fine. I told him what had happened and he told me that I had blacked out probably because my blood pressure had gotten too high. Especially if I was still that angry. Oh I was definitely still angry. I was just holding it in... for now.

So after being knocked out by Daniel Bryan, I'm lying on the floor trying to focus on what's going on around me. Spying Curtis Axel coming out of nowhere, he attacked Daniel Bryan, stopping the bearded maniac. I climbed to my feet and waited. Seeing my chance I put the go to sleep on Axel and fell on my ass. I can't believe or even understand why Axel would interfere in this match, but I know I need to get back on my feet and get in the ring, climb up the ladder, and grab the case. I need it, I want it, I can almost taste it. However before I could move, Paul came out of nowhere and started to rant and rave at Axel. I would have sworn that Paul was behind Axel's attack, but I was completely wrong. As Paul continued to scream at Axel, I climbed to my feet with the help of the ring. I roll into the ring, fix the ladder, and start to climb.

I can't believe it. I'm so close to the case. It's just barely out of my reach. Just a little bit more and I would have had it. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Paul climbed into the ring. In the back of my mind, I wonder what he was doing and my heart started to race even faster. He was still encouraging me to climb to the top so I do just that. And just like that I feltt a sharp pain the back of my leg and I fell down the ladder. I couldn't believe what I saw as I fell to the bottom of the ladder. Paul moved another ladder and sent it barreling towards my head. I glanced up in surprise at my once best friend and just stared at him in complete shock. He gave me a look that I didn't understand and once more brought the ladder down on my head. I knew instantly that he gashed open the top of my head and I briefly wondered how bad it could be as I collapsed to the mat and blood began to pour down my face. As Paul Heyman walked away and the match continued on around me and as my eyes blurred with blood, I didn't understand how or why he would have done this, but I vowed to get my revenge.

* * *

**Monday Morning July 15, 2013**

"How is she?" I asked as I walked into Ashley's hospital room Monday morning.

Terry shook his head, but didn't look up from the papers in his hands. "No change, Phil. And there won't be either. You know this."

I sighed and nodded. I did know, but I was tired and I wasn't thinking straight. At least in the 'no change' policy in Ashley's medically induced coma meant she wasn't declining in health either. As I got closer to her bed side, my breath caught in my throat. This wasn't my first time seeing her, but it still took my breath away every time I looked at her. She was covered in casts and what skin was showing, was bruised. Her face was swollen, her jaw bruised and still a little bloody. Apparently they missed some spots cleaning her up. The room was full of all that equipment from my dream which to be honest scared the shit out of me. Only difference was the chairs. There were two dark blue recliners. Almost right next to each other. For Terry to sleep in, I was sure.

I grabbed a few paper towels and wet them before returning to Ashley's bedside and gently wiped her face. She didn't stir, she didn't move. I hated this shit.

"Be careful you don't get caught doing that." Terry's warning came out of nowhere and I looked over at him.

"What? Why?"

Terry shrugged as he met my gaze. "A nurse caught me doing the same thing and ripped into me. She told me I could be causing her unnecessary pain and to keep my hands to myself. So I've been removing a little spot here and there so no one would notice."

I chuckled softly and continued wiping at the blood. "And did they?"

"Did they what?" He honestly seemed confused.

"Notice?"

He snorted. "I think old Hatchet face did."

I stopped mid-wipe and glanced up. "Hatchet face?"

"She reminds me of that girl on that Johnny Depp movie, Crybaby."

I grimaced and went back to wiping as Terry nodded with a grin on his face. Hatchet face was one ugly broad. I almost shuddered in horror. Poor Ashley, but as long as this nurse took proper care of Ashley, she was okay in my book. I sighed loudly as I stopped wiping at the blood once more. Why I was here? Why I seemed to care who took care of Ashley and made sure she was seen after properly wasn't any of my concern. I ended things before any of this happened. Even knowing that Ashley may take one look at me and tell me to leave again, I still couldn't tear myself away from her side. I had to know if she was okay. For some reason I didn't understand, I felt guilty.

I threw away the paper towel and made it to Terry's side as the door to the room opened and Nurse Hatchet face walked in. She nodded to the two of us and I nodded in return. She really did look like that lady in that movie. She took Ashley's vitals, making careful notes in her chart and taking extra care to be gentle. She was definitely a good nurse.

"Don't you have a show to go to tonight? And what happened to you? Where did you get the stitches?" Terry questioned as the nurse continued on with her work.

I sighed and nodded. And then I yawned. Damn, but I was tired. "I do have a show this evening. One that I definitely cannot miss. I got the stitches last night at Money in the Bank thanks to Paul Heyman. The asshole stabbed me in the back."

"Is that where the raw knuckles came from?"

I looked down at my red hands and shook my head. "No that was a different unfortunate incident."

Terry nodded. "Is the show close by?"

I shook my head. "No, it's in Brooklynn, New York."

Terry gave a low whistle. "Wasn't the Money in the Bank show in New York or something?"

I chuckled. "In was in Pennsylvania."

"So you took a plane last night to get here?"

I shook my head. "The only plane I could get was early this morning. I went home long enough to eat, take a shower and get clean clothes before heading here. I have to catch a plane at three this afternoon for the Raw show tonight."

"Fuckin' A, man. Aren't you tired?"

I let out another sigh. "I'm exhausted."

Terry nodded. "You know you didn't have to come by today or at least every day for that matter."

I shrugged. "I know, but … I just wanted to."

He continued to nod as he went back to his paperwork. "She's addicting, man. She's just naturally draws people to her."

I nodded in agreement. "It's her smile. It drove me nuts when I first met her, but now…" I trailed off.

Terry laughed. "Oh I know exactly what you mean. She seems almost too happy, but the moment she's not happy, you want to do anything in your power to make her smile again."

"Yea." I agreed and then quickly changed the subject. I so did not want to talk about anything closely related to feelings. "Are you still enlisted?"

Terry looked up and over at me. "I am."

I nodded. "How long are you on leave for?"

Terry smiled. "As long as I want. Ashley's listed as my kin on my enlistment papers. And I've got some close friends in um… upper management. I'm here until Ash is on her feet and an hundred percent."

"Good." Was all I had to say to that.

Nurse Hatchet face left and it was silent for a few minutes before Terry spoke once more. "You're better off without him."

I glanced over at him in surprise. "What? Who?"

He looked up at me. "Paul Heyman. You're better off without the prick."

My eyes widened in surprise. "You don't like Paul Heyman?"

Terry shook his head. "I don't. I never have. I hate the way he says, 'My name is Paul Heyman'. Yeah, no shit dipstick. But it's what Ashley has told me that sealed my hatred for him."

I was still in shock. I was under the expression she hadn't a clue that Paul hated her. "What did Ashley say?"

"That she can hear Heyman screaming at you through the doors. She can never make out the words, but he's always raising his voice. She doesn't like it. She said he gives her dirty looks too. She doesn't understand why, but she says she doesn't care."

I chuckled softly. "She shouldn't care."

"Does he hate her?"

I took a deep breath. If I admitted that he did, I knew what Terry's next question would be. The real question was, did I want to answer that next question. I had only told Colt about my suspicions. I hadn't told anyone about the dream I had. That would be too weird and I would look bat shit crazy. Even knowing Terry's next question and the dread I felt answering it, I still slowly nodded.

"I thought as much after what Ash had told me. Could he have done this? Or at least had someone do it for him?"

I swallowed the lump lodged in my throat and shrugged. "Terry, I don't know. I wouldn't have thought so but I don't know anymore."

"The police found no concrete evidence that would lead to finding a suspect. They checked all cameras and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. It's just like this guy in a ski mask pops from out of nowhere."

I took another deep breath and asked another question that I knew the answer would bother me. "The guy in the ski mask, what did he look like?"

"The detective signed to the case said he was a big guy, bigger than average and that he walked funny."

"Fuck." I hissed.

Terry's head snapped up. "What? Does that sound familiar?"

I nodded. "That describes hundreds of men, but it also sounds like Brock Lesnar."

* * *

**A Few Hours Later—**

It wasn't Brock Lesnar. Or so the police said. After I told Terry what I thought, he called the detective. Detective Simon Myers came to the hospital and we talked outside of Ashley's room for a few minutes. The detective seemed pumped up that he might have an actual suspect in mind and one they knew where to find and could arrest immediately.

He just returned and with a grim face and left the same way. Brock Lesnar had an alibi. A rock solid alibi it seemed or so Myers had said. I agreed with Myers. It couldn't have been Lesnar after all. I was mistaken.

Only one problem with that.

His alibi was Paul Heyman.


End file.
